The Fake Player
by 7th Pride
Summary: On his death bed Shirou was paid a visit by Zelretch. Offering him a chance to escape eternal servitude to Alaya the fake hero takes it to avoid a future like EMIYA. Waking up, he finds himself in a strange new world. Now living in the virtual world of YGGDRASIL, Shirou meets and befriends an unusual individual. "Huh, never thought I would be friends with an undead." UBW!Shirou
1. The Death of a Hero

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or** **Overlord (** オーバーロード **). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and** **Overlord (** **オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **With that out of the way, hello. Yes you, the reader that took time out of your day to click on this fiction. Thank you for being the first readers of my first ever story. I've been a massive fan of the Fate series and Overlord and now I'm trying my hand at writing. Hopefully I do both series justice.**

 **An Author's note is at the bottom for more information.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

 **Edited: 2019**

* * *

 **Prologue: The Death of a Hero**

Shirou Emiya, participant of the fifth Holy Grail War and the second incarnation of the Magus Killer, was dying. Or rather, it was more accurate to say that Shirou has been dying for at least two decades now and is only now feeling the end approaching.

At the ripe old age of 146 Shirou has lived an adventurous life. Not necessary a good one, nor a fulfilling one but certain an adventurous one. Especially in a profession that saw many good die young. Despite his true age his body looked no older than someone in their late eighties. His once healthy and toned skin aged, it wrinkled and lost its luster. His hands, his pride, which once wielded great and power Noble Phantasms belonging to heroes of old were reduced to husks of their form self. Nothing but skin and bones. Innumerable scars and wounds littered his body, each one a tapestry with its own story and perils to tell. From a purely medical perspective, Shirou should not even be remotely alive with the injuries he's sustained in his career.

All in thanks to Avalon, the scabbard of Excalibur itself. Shirou has lost count of how many times the Everdistant Utopia has saved him from a life threatening injury. It was for this reason that was keeping his body from breaking down faster than it was.

Looking to the side of his bed a small window adorned the wall, the only source to the outside world. In the past, a favorite pass time of Shirou was stargazing. Simply looking upwards, towards the sky and above with beautiful stars lightening up the night sky. Nowadays, it was considered a miracle just to see anything besides smog and polluted gas. The last hundred years haven't kind to the world. During the late twenty first century, the rise of mega corporation and industrialization have nearly destroyed the Earth's vegetation and green life. It was only a matter of time.

It has gotten so bad that the populace needed breathing masks and goggles to prevent themselves from choking on the polluted air.

"I wonder what is so interesting about smoke covered sky that you're always looking outside that window, Emiya-san." A deep but familiar voice called out.

Shirou showed no reaction to the voice. Despite his age and the degradation of his magical circuits, and senses his sixth sense was as sharp as ever. Honed through years of life or death scenarios. That and the man in question radiated enough potency that even a none magical entity would feel a shudder.

"Zelretch." Shirou spoke plainly. Without taking his eyes away from the drearily scenery.

"Emiya-san!" Zelretch exclaimed with a positively cheery tone.

Stepping out of the darkened corner of Shirou's room, Zelretch casually made his way to the center of the room. Casting a casual glance towards the vampire Shirou noted that his appearance hasn't changed over these long years. Many, himself included wondered if the Dead Apostle Ancestor wore anything else but a form-fitting dark suit with gloves covering his hands, and a mantle over his suit. His ashen gray hair slicked back and combed. He held the appearance of a well-mannered old man betrayed only by his glowing crimson eyes that indicated him as anything but human.

"It's been a while hasn't it? How long have we last seen each other? A decade? Two? It would seem time hasn't been kind to you Emiya-san unlike me?" The vampire joked. Again, Shirou ignored him.

"Would you care for some pudding?" Reaching into his pocket Zeltrech pulled out a nondescript cup of pudding. Shirou showed no reaction to his question.

"I'll tell you Emiya-san, you would NOT believe how hard it is to find decent pudding cups now." With a pause, Zelretch opened the cup. Producing a spoon out of nowhere he quickly digs into his delicious treat. "Mmmm~, caramel. Delicious. Unlike that mass-produced guck that are sold now." Engaging in playful banter Zelretch continued. "Why, just this morning I was perusing this store and found spinach flavored pudding. Spinach I tell you! Healthy and natural they promoted, bullocks I say."

Again, Shirou kept his eyes on the window, choosing not to acknowledge the ancient magician. Zelretch quickly finished his snack and without care, tossed the empty plastic cup over his shoulder. Reaching into his pocket once more he finished out another pudding cup. This time Zelretch kept to himself as he enjoyed his treat. The only sound that broke the silence was Zelretch's smacking lips. This continued several minutes with him pulling out more cups of pudding whenever he finished. A small pile of trash accumulated behind him. Only on his eighth cup did Shirou finally spoke.

"What are you doing here Zelretch?" Slowly, Shirou turned his head towards the immortal mage. Finally giving him the attention that he wanted.

"Is it so wrong for me to meet up with an old friend?" Nonplussed, Zelretch nonchalantly answered.

"You and I are not friends." Shirou's eyes narrowed and lips twitched downward into a frown.

"You wound me so Emiya-san." Zelretch placed a hand over his heart and feigned hurt. It almost looked genuine was it not for a mirthful smile on his face.

Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, Zelretch of the Jewels, the Wizard Marshal, acclaimed mage and Wielder of Second Magic; Kaleidoscope. He was a man with many titles and it was well deserved. Zelretch was a man that was feared as he was respected; if not more so the former. With numerous titles and a fearsome reputation, he was known predominantly as an extreme prankster. There was a popular saying back in the day of the Clocktower, 'If Zelretch takes an interest in you, pray. Pray to whatever false god you may or may not believe in for mercy. For you will learn that Zelretch shall spare you none.' Something Rin and Shirou didn't learn until it was too late.

Many who have met him, Shirou included, would have described him as a sarcastic, and sadistic man (vampire technically.) His pranks would range anything from something like replacing all their clothes with bikini's that disintegrate upon contact with water. To his favorite, removing ones' conscious and implanting it into another body in an alternate universe via his Second Magic, and allowing them to live that life only to be ripped away back to their original time. Give or take anyway anywhere between a few days, months, or years depending on his mood.

Shirou knew he wasn't evil, not fundamentally evil anyways. Zelretch was unhinged to say it best. With the ability to view and travel to unlimited realities it warped his mind. A common theme around those that have stared into Root itself and has come out stronger than before.

Back to the matter at hand, Shirou had only meet Zelretch only a few times. All involving Rin and none of them were good. For him to go out of his way to meet Shirou, he was up to something.

"I'm not in the mood for games Zelretch. Tell me why you're here, **now**!" Shirou demanded, putting as much steel behind his world as he frail body could.

"Fine, fine." Zelretch waved away the threat. "I know a way for you to escape Alaya's grasp." He said, cutting right to the chase.

Shirou's eyes immediately widened, his mouth agape. "Impossible." Was his immediate answer. "You and I know that once a contract with Alaya is made it can't be taken back. **It** wouldn't allow it."

"True, true." The old man/vampire nodded. "If it were anyone else you would be 100% correct. However…" Zelretch turned to face him, his crimson eyes shined with glee, his smile stretching from ear to ear revealing his sharpened canines. At that moment the true personality of Zelretch was on full display. "… You've forgotten who you're talking to! I am Zelretch! Wielder and Owner of Operation of Parallel Worlds itself. It took a long time, but I found it. A way for you to escape your fate as Counter-Guardian Emiya-kun!"

Hearing this, his mind wandered back to the event that led up to the decision to make the deal with Alaya. As the years passed on magecraft was slowly declining like those of the Clocktower feared. Sometime during the mid-twentieth century, there was an eruption of industrialization not just in Japan but the entire world. As everything became more modernized, those on the magical side died down. Once powerful Ley lines dried up due to the landscape and earth becoming polluted from various dumping and chemical. Pollution sunk its teeth into everything, the air, water, and the earth itself.

As a result, the Earth was slowly dying, and by extension Gaia. In a last-ditch effort to wipe the slate clean, Gaia pulled in and used as much prana as she could to unleash various Phantasmal Beasts and conjured natural disaster on the world. Even enlisting the help of Dead Apostle Ancestors like Altrouge Brunestud, and Primate Murder to name a few. All to bring about the extinction of humanity. In the face of the coming apocalypse the Mage Association, Holy Church, and what remained of the Dead Apostle Ancestor that didn't wish for total annihilation joined forces. Executioners and enforcers working side by side. While clerics and magus providing support and covering fire.

Strangely enough, Alaya didn't intervene with any Counter-Guardian. At least, not at first.

The ensuing battle was perhaps the greatest magical war that to have ever taken place. Its impact reverberated throughout the world. A shame that it would be soon washed away time. For, while humanity won it was a Pyrrhic victory. Roughly 88% to 90% of the alliance died in the battle. For every creature they killed, some thirty or forty of their own forces perished. One memorable example was Merem Solomon who gave his life to take down fellow Dead Apostle Ancestor; Altrouge Brunestud. But, not just him, but many noble and powerful families were quickly snuffed out that day.

Not even the likes of Lorelei Barthomeloi, or Lord El-Melloi II escaped unscathed. Waver Velvet or Lord El-Melloi II died taking down Primate Murder along with some other high-ranking members of the Clocktower. Lorelei herself was left crippled after the battle. Her left arm gone, and she was paralyzed from the waist down.

Even now, Shirou could recall the battle with perfect detail. How his body ached and screamed from all the running and fighting. How his magical circuits burned his skin from constantly tracing and reinforcing his body. The smell of blood and ashes in the air from all the destruction. The sound of explosions and screams of those meeting their demises against the beasts. The sight of dead bodies, both human and otherwise that littered the ground, with blood coloring everything in sight. So much bloodshed, so much destruction.

He pushed his body to the absolute limit and beyond. To this day, Shirou still wondered how he simply didn't randomly drop dead from how much his body was exerting. Noble Phantasm after Noble Phantasm he traced. Spears, swords, knives, dagger, axes, halberds, shields, everything and anything he held stored in his Reality Marble. Either obscure to well-known legends, he traced them all and unleashed hell upon the monsters. Even going as far as to his reality marble, Unlimited Blade Works multiple times.

Even with the help of Zelretch and his Second Magic, it was still an uphill battle. Many died and those that survived were tired and injured themselves. Thus, the forces of Gaia mounted one last frontal assault knowing humanity forces were weak enough. It was at that moment that Alaya decided to make herself known to Shirou. For the longest time, Alaya has continuously contacted Shirou to try and form a contract with it. All to get her perfect attack dog. He was able to endure, all to avoid the future that was Archer. It knew that without her help Humanity was doomed if they lose. Thus, it waited and waited until Shirou was backed into a corner and would be left with no choice but to accept the contract. An underhanded method that sacrificed countless lives, all to acquire her perfect Counter-Guardian. Because the Will of Humanity knew of his dream, of his nature to help anyone and everyone even at the expense of himself.

Through trickery and manipulation, Shirou signed away his fate so that everyone else could live. With the power of the Counter Force at his side and Counter-Guardians to refill their ranks, they pushed the forces of Gaia back. They won the battle, but the war was lost soon after.

After such a confrontation the world's natural source of mana suddenly dwindled and dried up. No one was prepared for such a situation. The drain was so massive that it was calculated to be impossible to replenish, especially with the growing pollution and degradation of the earth. This caused what little of phantasmal beasts to die off one by one. The same could be said about the surviving magus'. Those that survived were severely crippled and weakened. With most of their proficient founders and leaders dead and gone, alongside the decline of magecraft as a whole; the magical community was left in ruins. What they feared came to pass; magecraft died on that day.

In fact, the only one left that could use magic/magecraft was Zelretch himself. Even then, it was strictly limited to his Kaleidoscope.

Many magical families were left in shambles over what to do. Without their magecraft, they were just regular humans. Their knowledge, prestige, and skill were now worthless. Of course, as traditional with magus they couldn't accept such a reality. Where they were no different from everyone else in the world; powerless and weak.

Many sought to hold onto their old glory and fame, but like grasping water it slipped through their fingertips. Many sought to experiment in order to find a way to bring magecraft back into the world. Most, as expected, failed and their family line died off. Unable to adapt and move on. Others reluctantly accepted this and tried to move on. Tried being the keyword as many magus were extremely technologically inept with the modern world and technology as a whole. Lorelei, herself moved on, moving to the alps of Switzerland and lived the rest of her life there with what remaining servants and family she had left.

The wounds he sustained during the battle were mitigated thanks to the Counter Force giving a much-needed boost in strength. But they were still crippling to a degree. Shirou slowly loss sensation in his hands and legs due to burning out his magical circuits too many times. It only got worse throughout the year. Resulting in him being bed-ridden for the last decade. No longer can he activate his circuits without white-hot pain flaring to his arms and legs.

And thus, Shirou Emiya; The 2nd Magus Killer was no more.

"Spacing out Emiya-san? Is your age catching up to you? Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." The mage took another jab at the faker's age.

Snapping his head towards the Dead Apostle Shirou shook his head to clear the cobweb that was his memory of that day. Going back to what he said, Shirou couldn't help but feel skeptical of it all. If he was being honest Shirou fully believes Zelretch does indeed have something to escape Alaya's contract. If half the stories that Rin told about her mentor was true it wouldn't be surprising. No. What he really wanted to know is why?

"Why? What do you gain out of this?"

"Oh, don't be like that. Like I said before you're a friend! It's only natural that friends help each other out."

 _'I don't believe that for a second.'_ He immediately voiced in his head. Zelretch, while crazy was still a magus. Magus didn't do anything for free as Rin would constantly beat into his mind. They were selfish and scheming, always trying to get something out of a deal. The question now was, what does Zelretch gain by helping Shirou?

"Answer the question Zelretch! I'm no mood for a prank."

"Hmph. I see that you've gotten crankier with age Emiya-san." The vampire pouted. Seeing that the faker was still maintaining his glare he got down to business.

"Fine. There are three reasons why I wish to help you." Zelretch emphasized by holding up three digits. "The first, it's because I like you Emiya Shirou. I really do." His voice sounding more grounded than before.

Shirou blinked. _'Huh, that sounds honestly genuine. I wonder…'_

"You've provided me with so much entertainment over the years, it shouldn't be a surprise that I've taken a liking to you!"

 _'Ahh…there it is.'_ Shirou deadpanned at the gushing mage.

"You'll be surprised just how boring it can be sometimes as a magician. It's always the same thing with maguses, always experimenting with their magecraft and magic crests. Borrrring~. Seeing a magus doing something as reprehensible as cutting up a twelve-year-old is shocking the first time. The next thousand or so morally bankrupt acts, it gets stale. I dare say I've enjoyed watching your life unfold than any televised work put out nowadays. The Drama! The Suspense! The Action! Truly, I will never get bored of watching your life play out."

As the vampire prattled on and on Shirou gritted his teeth and glared with all he had. If he could Shirou would trace every weapon he had in Unlimited Blade Works and send toward the Apostle with the intention of skewing him. His life was not some play or movie to viewed as such!

Chuckling at the death glare he was getting Zelretch moved on. "Point numero dos." He flicked his hand out, holding two digits this time. His smile shifted to something more mischievous "I get to pull one over on the broad. Not only am I taking away her favorite toy, but I'll be ensuring that even after you kick the bucket Ayala won't be able to get her grubby hands on you." He explained with a smile on his face.

Huh… Shirou, to a certain degree, could make sense of that. Zelretch has always taken some twisted pleasure when playing pranks on his victims. "As a prankster, one must always strive to reach for greatness!" Or at least, that was what the trolling vampire proclaims anyway. By denying Alaya her prize, he was effectively pranking the collective will of humanity itself. At least, that what he assumed the Apostle was after.

"And the third." He asked.

Like a switch was flipped Zelretch entire expression changed. His playful smile that he had throughout the conversation thinned into a fine line. His eyes loss its mirthful shine, replaced with a sense of melancholy and nostalgia. The playful air around him evaporating completely. If Shirou was being honest, it creeped him out just how fast the change happened. While he was no expert on the ancient mage it was a shock to see him so...human.

"Rin." He answered. Hearing her name caused Shirou's heart to lurch and his fist tightened their grips on the blanket.

"What about her?" Shirou questioned. For a few seconds, the vampire remained silence.

"...Despite what many of those idiots in the Clocktower believe True Magic isn't the end all be all as one might think." Zelretch began and ignoring Shirou's question. "Sure, wielding true magic might be neat for the first several decades but it quickly loses its luster rather quickly. Unlike the others like Denial of Nothingness or Heaven's Feel, Second Magic took time and practice before I fully reigned in my control. Can you even begin to fathom it? Seeing and learning not just your own but every single possibility. Every decision ever made, every 'what if'? I dare say that kind of knowledge would drive any man insane!" Zelretch cackled at the last part.

"What does this have to do with Rin?" Shirou finally asked.

"I'm getting there." Zelretch assured the third-rate magus. "Imagine yourself as me for just a moment. You're bored, so you decide to drop by the Clocktower and on your merry way you bump into an interesting little magus on the way. I saw something in her that I haven't seen in a long, long time. Conviction. Fire. And a hint of fear from bumping into me." His voice laced with nostalgia.

"You know the story. On a whim, I decided to make her my apprentice. Just to see what would happen. Would that fire I saw in her be snuffed out like those before or would it continue to burn bright? To this very day, I don't regret offering her that deal. It was refreshing, she wasn't like those sycophants in the Clocktower. No, no, no she was a feisty little girl that held nothing back and expressed exactly how she felt, consequences be damned. Not even the old bat Barthomeloi would dare insult me to my face. If she did, I would have respected her a lot more."

Shirou, at this point, was starting to get irritated. The conversation has veered off course already and he was about to demand the vampire to get to the point. Only for him to do just that next.

"Just before she died, I decided to pay her one last visit. You know, a master saying goodbye to their pupil one last time. You know how it goes. I barely closed the door behind me before she begged me to save you."

"W-wh-what?" Shirou chocked out.

"On her deathbed, she begged me to save you." Zelretch bluntly repeated.

"But…but, why? She hates me…"

"Do you honestly believe that for a second Emiya-san." His voice cutting down Shirous'. A lone skeptical brow raised. "Even after everything you went through. We both know that girl is basically the embodiment of tsundere itself." he huffed.

Biting his lower lip, he met the Dead Apostle's eyes. Shirou's thoughts wandered back to the incident. What caused the rift between the Tohsaka mage and the faker and how it splintered them.

Zelretch continued, paying no mind to Shirou's internal conflict. "During her life as my apprentice, I have heard her ask, or demand something of me. But she never begged. Whether it be for an answer to a theory or advice on performing a certain ritual. She never begged me for anything, until that moment." Zelretch turned his sight away from the window and looked Shirou straight in the eye. A terrifying chill crawled up his spine seeing the wizard's face set in stone. Those maleficent crimson eyes and stoned cold expression. It was almost as frightening as his pranking face. Almost.

"She begged me to find a way to save you." With a steady pace, he walked forward towards the bed-ridden magus. "I promise her that I would." He stopped at his side, staring down at him. "And I will."

With a heavy sigh, Shirou leaned back, pressing his back against the bed frame, casting his eyes downward to get away from the sharp gaze of the vampire.

Closing his eyes to the outside world, an image quickly formed in his head. One that was all too familiar to the magus. A hill with the backdrop of a setting sun. A young and petite blond woman standing there on a hill. Dressed in a simple white blouse and a blue skirt that reached for her ankles. Her beautiful golden hair unbound and flowing, reaching past her shoulder. Her emerald eyes sparkling as she gazed into the distance. Next to her stood a slightly taller girl. She too wore a blouse, this one colored red and had long sleeves. A cross shaped design lie in the sternum area of her blouse. A black skirt and thigh high stocking completed her look. Black ribbons fashioned her long hair into long twin-tails.

Saber and Rin.

His allies. His friends. His lovers. His greatest failures and regret.

With the fake hero accepting the contract with Alaya, he wallowed in shame and guilt knowing that he would never see them again. To never apologize and beg for their forgiveness. Not unless he did what Archer did and implemented himself into the Throne of Heroes to be summoned as a Servant in some alternate parallel world. Even then, that wouldn't lead him to **his** Saber and Rin. But who knows how long that would take, or if Alaya would allow it. Shirou resigned his fate knowing that there was nothing left he could do.

But now…

Now. There was something that could be done!

Raising his head to meet Zelretch's piercing gaze, his once dull eyes burning with a fire that was long extinguished, he asked one simple question.

"Will I be able to see them again?"

The vampire's answer was immediate. "Of course."

"Ok."

Just like that Zelretch's face did a 180. A massive grin stretched across his face and his eyes crinkled into slits. Another chill ran down his spine. Shirou recognized that face. That was the face that haunted the nightmares of so many magus before. The face of a man in on a joke and whoever his victim was, was the punchline.

"Excellent!" The elder mage joyfully shouted. Multicolored confetti exploded from his hands as he applauded. Damn Second Magic. "I knew I could convince you."

Rolling his eyes at the vampire, Shirou ignored the bone chilling feeling just so he could get this over with. "How is this going to work?"

Hearing this Zelretch grin only stretched further if that was possible. His instinct suddenly blared to life, telling him to escape now!

"Simple. Just hold still for a moment. This'll only hurt for a second."

"W-wha—" Shirou was abruptly cut off with a gurgle. The familiar taste of copper filling his mouth. Why did his chest suddenly hurt?'

Looking down he found his answer. There, impaling his chest but more specifically over his heart was a weapon. Not just any weapon, the Jeweled Sword itself. A myriad of light began to emit from the crystal dagger, flooding the room with all the colours of a rainbow. Shirou felt his eyes growing heavy. The last thing he saw was Zelretch smiling visage.

"Take care Shirou."

* * *

For the briefest moment, Shirou felt weightless. Darkness enveloped him, and he could see nothing. The magus didn't even have time to ponder on the situation before a flash of light blinded him.

Television often over-dramatized the awakening process. A sharp gasp, a sudden start, or even a surprise lurch. Something to signal that a person is fully awake. For Shirou, more time than he could count, it was always the awareness that got him. His eyes opened and his senses registering everything around him.

He was lying down that much he could tell. His fingers feeling something soft, grass maybe? Trees and foliage filled his vision of above. His ear twitched, picking up the sound of running water.

Without making a sound he stood up. Shirou's eyes first drifted to his hands. Gone was the barren hands to weak to even pick up a spoon, replaced with smooth toned skin and muscle. His body running on auto-pilot he knelt to the creek next to him. A face stared right back at him, one that he hasn't seen in a long, long time.

Archer. The face of his future self stared right back at Shirou. Slowly Shirou ran his hand against his new face. "Zelretch wasn't kidding…" he muttered. Taking a moment to compose himself Shirou took his new appearance in.

His new face resembled Archer's closely, nearly identical. Gone were the wrinkled skin, replaced with creamy and toned skin of his prime. Sharp jawline, strong cheekbones, and full complexion were among the first he noticed of his rejuvenated youth. His once ashen gray hair taking a more healthy and shining silver. Finally, his eyes. Interestingly enough they were heterochromatic. One of steelish silver and the other of molten gold.

The magus's body followed a similar trend. The clothing was identical to that of the Counter-Guardian. He wears a near black bodysuit, consisting of a sleeveless shirt with silver accents on the front, and black pants with black leather straps attached to his thighs and shin. Ending with metal closed tips boots. The signature bright crimson cloak and mantle were worn on top of it. The red cloak covered Shirou's arms but left his torso and midriff open. An agemaki knot tying everything together. The second part of the crimson attire was purely aesthetics as it took the form of two long red cloth attached to his waist with a silver-plated buckle.

The outfit was comfortable, reminding Shirou of his old hunting uniform. The form-fitting clothing pressed against his skin, more effective at outlining his chiseled pecs and abs than it did for actual protection. Clear and distinct biceps on his arms and powerful leg muscles showed. Along with broad and strong shoulders that could carry mountains.

Shirou felt great. No. Not just great but amazing. Not even in his prime did he feel so rejuvenated or powerful. So, lost in thought was Shirou that he didn't immediately take notice of a couple of discrepancies. Such as the tingling of his skin with the mana rich air, or how his new face was set in a perpetual frown that the original EMIYA was known for. It wasn't until the distant sound of an explosion knocked out of his stupor.

"What?" Shirou heard it. A familiar sound.

"Agghh!" A loud cry of pain was heard.

His instinct immediately took control. Everything didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was the burning desire to save someone.

"Trace on!" Shirou chanted. The thrumming of his magical circuits firing up, better than ever before. Two weapons appeared in his hand. One of concentrated black and the other of pure white and both sporting a ying-yang symbol near the handle. The all too familiar Noble Phantasm: Kanshou and Bakuya. The magic circuits in his legs flared up, pumping prana into his legs.

 **[Reinforcement]**

With a single step, he launched himself a dozen or so meter forward. Shirou was surprised. Never in his previous could he reach such speed even with only a simple reinforcement boost. This concern was secondary compared to the blackened text that read out his magecraft. A display of his skill for him to visibly see, lasting only a second before disappearing. Unfortunately, another explosion rocked him from his musing. Refocusing his effort on finding the source his form blurred.

Shirou quickly noted that his sight and hearing were extremely fined tuned, easily picking out the direction of the source. His eyes with crystal clear vision taking note of everything. Strangely enough, he felt his sense of touch and smell rather muted.

"…As…Hit…T…"

His ear twitched. Voices! The magus could make out voices. Doubling his effort, the voices got louder and clearer.

"Hahaha, eat this you freakshow."

"Arrggh." Cried a voice.

The sound of clanging metal was clear in his ear. A foot or fist? Whoever it was, it was clearly enjoying itself if the clear jubilation in its voice was any indication. The forest and trees recede to reveal a stone cliff edge. A younger and immature Shirou would have rushed in and consequences be damned. After decades of fighting monsters, heroic spirits, insane magus and cultists, it taught him that rushing in blind with no idea who or what he would be facing was the epitome of stupidity.

Halting, Shirou crouched and carefully made his way to the edge and peeked over. He needed information. Who or what was he fighting? How many? How dangerous are they? Could they sense Shirou from here? Information was key and if he wasn't careful then there was a possibility of him failing and losing not just his life but also the one he wishes to save.

"Come on, that all you got freak?"

"Yeah. You could have at least made this interesting!"

Two different voices called out. More tormentors?

"Easy for you say!" There it was, the victim. He honed in on that particular voice.

"Acting all high and mighty because you're beating up a level 2 player."

Level 2? What?

"Why don-" The voice was abruptly cut off by the sound of a metal boot smacking the victim.

"Whatever Skeletor." The voice scoffed.

Finally, Shirou got a good view of the situation. An undead being, a skeleton if the milky white bones were of an indication in robes and four separate humanoid individuals. This was something Shirou has seen a thousand times. Undead harassing and killing any and all humans they come across.

However, this was anything but normal.

It was the undead being that was on the ground and if his hearing was correct it was the voice of the victim. The undead was backed up against a tree. Four humans encircled it. A female dressed in white robes that reminded him of the Church. One in full plated armor with a sword resting on his shoulder. Another that dressed in fine leather armor and held two small daggers. Lastly, an archer if the bow and quivers were anything to go by.

If that wasn't strange enough, text flooded vision.

 **PwnSlayer213 – Lvl: 90**

 **LuckyLoveLucy – Lvl: 88**

 **Killershoooot – Lvl: 84**

 **TheAssAssin – Lvl: 83**

 **Momonga – Lvl: 2**

Names and numbers were assigned to the human and lone undead. Next to their name was a bar. Everyone but the undead was full and green. The robed skeleton had only a tiny fraction remaining and coloured red.

 _'W-what?'_ While his face didn't change one can easily imagine Shirou blinked owlishly. His brain was a storm of activity. His mind trying to process and make sense of it all. With hundreds of questions bounced back and forth in his mind. _'How am I seeing their name? What kind of names is that? What do those numbers mean? Should I interfere? What's going on?!'_ were but some examples.

"What did Zelretch dragged me into…"

In all his experience as a freelance enforcer and executor, this was perhaps the first time, he has ever seen this something like this before. The undead was cowering. Normally it was the supernatural being that was the one in control, hurting and killing humans without a single care. It was the monsters that tormented the weak humans. Their strength and abilities far exceeding an average human. Fostering the sense of superiority, believing that humanity was nothing but insects and food for them. Rarely has he seen such a bizarre situation where it was the inverse instead.

Until now that was.

Shirou felt conflicted, to say the least. On one hand, it wasn't the humans that were being hurt. That he was glad for, but he didn't approve of their behavior. They were needlessly tormenting the undead, very similar to how Apostles would treat a human. Taunting and looking down on them. Too closely for Shirou's liking. On the other hand, it was an undead being. On principle alone, he should just up and leave especially with his past experiences with monsters and undead. Shirou knew that not all undead or magical beings are evil and see humanity as a pest. Zelretch was a prime but albeit loose example.

"Look, I just want to play this game alright. I'm not even a threat to you guys for god's sake." The undead begged. **Beg**. Strangely enough, he noted that its voice sounded very human-like, lacking the gravel tone that was attributed to such unnatural beings.

"Not our business creep." The image of an evil smirking emoticon popped up.

"Yeah, blame your shit luck. LoL." Another pop-up appeared with 'LOL' displaying.

The armored warrior delivered another kick to the skeleton, knocking him back against the tree. The small red bar shorting even further. This earned a round of laughter from his companions.

Shirou's grip on his weapon tightened. This type of behavior wasn't uncommon amongst the executors of the church or enforcers of the clocktower. Human supremacist that wanted to cause them pain when they could, just like those they hunted. The irony wasn't lost on the faker.

Two minds waged within him. His mind telling him to leave, that it was another undead. Move on and figure out what was going on. His heart meanwhile told him otherwise. Just as not all magical beings or undead are monsters, not all humans are saints.

"Any last world bonesy?" The warrior questioned, his sword poised to strike.

"Damn it… I just…I just wanted to live a while longer."

The debate in his head only intensified.

Shirou recognized that tone of voice. The undead voice soft, he would have missed it if it weren't for his enhanced hearing. A forlorn tone of one that has resigned to their fate, knowing there was nothing they could do. He'd seen it many times before, on fathers who lost their families and couldn't go on, or a woman in an abusive relationship unable to escape the pain. And he had seen it on himself when he accepted Alaya's contract.

The voice of someone that a needed hero!

"Maybe that'll teach you to play a freak!" With a roar, the blade descended.

In that singular nanosecond, a decision was made.

* * *

Closing his eyes, Momonga suppressed the desire to release every profanity known to man to curse the PKers. Players like them were sadists, they would enjoy hearing him scream and rage. He won't give them the satisfaction.

Momonga spent the better part of his weekend, the only time away from his shitty job, to relax and perhaps grind. Instead, he was hunted down for the better part of an hour by a group of bored players. His once level 32 character now reduced to a mere level 2. As a heteromorphic player certain starting towns were impossible to go into because of his character race. As a result, the number of respawn points was limited so they just camped around until he fully revived.

'Looks like I'll have to make a new character, again.' He thought sadly.

Momonga could already hear the voice of the main menu of Yggdrasil claiming that his character model died and "encourage" him to make a new one.

Yet, that didn't happen at all.

Instead….

"What the hell!" The warrior shouted.

Momonga's eyes snapped open and his sight returned. He wasn't dead was the first thing he noticed. The second was that _someone_ had intervened. Standing in between him and his tormentors was another player.

 **EMIYA – Lvl: 100**

'I'm…saved?'

If his avatar could, it's jaw would be on the floor. Momonga held no illusion for anyone to help him. Unless you were in a party, clan or guild, it was every man for himself. What shocked him even further was that he was a humanoid player. At least, that's what he's assuming seeing as this EMIYA lacked any racial characteristic that would identify him as a heteromorph or demi-human. He held in his hands two weapons, Dao swords if Momonga was remembering the classification correctly. There was little to any armor on his saver. He could only assume that it allows EMIYA freedom of movement and speed but sacrifice any suitable protection.

Considering his attire and weapon Momonga assumed that he was a [Rogue] or perhaps [Ranger]. But if that was true then why would he expose himself? Those that specialize as [Rogue], [Ranger], or [Assassin] would completely lose in a head-to-head fight. Classes like those prefer to attack unseen and getting the drop on anyone. Was he reckless or perhaps arrogant thinking he could take on a party? Does he have some friends with him to back him up? What if—

"Are you alright?" A deep and baritone voice cut Momonga thought process short.

Ahh…I-I'm fine." He stammered.

"That's good…"

"Hey!" The Pk'ers shouted. Their surprise replaced with confusion and anger. "That's our kill, no kill-stealing! You find your own." An angry face emoticon hovering above the warrior.

"…I wasn't planning on killing it anyway." EMIYA said.

"What? You serious?" The archer of the group spoke up.

"I do not wish for any more trouble. Walk away and you won't have to see either of us again." Hearing this, the four-party players looked to one another before bursting out into laughter. Not that Momonga could really blame them. During this EMIYA remained still and waited.

"…How about this?" Recovering from their hysteria the leader addressed EMIYA. "Seeing as you got in our way, we'll kill you first AND that freak!" With a battle-cry, the warrior charged forward. The rogue following him up, his daggers gleaming. Their cleric stuck back, ready to provide support if necessary, with the archer taking off to the side, to get a vantage point for sniping.

"So be it…" The skeleton mage heard EMIYA muttered. Then, he moved.

No. That wasn't correct.

Moving implies that there is motion, for one thing to have visibly traveled from point A to B.

It was more accurate to say he disappeared. One moment he was standing in front of Momonga the next, he was in front of the female cleric. The rogue and warrior fumbled to a stop as their target disappeared in front of them.

What made it more frightening was that Momonga didn't hear a skill being used.

The surprise didn't end there. EMIYA unleashed a barrage of slashes, his hands practically becoming blurs. Momonga felt his jaws unhinged at the display before him. He didn't hear any skills being activated, which meant it was completely physical. Was it even humanly possible to reach such speed? If he had any more doubt of the mysterious player's ability, it died as he looked at her health bar. Her health bar was firmly in yellow. She lost practically half of her total HP without any skills being used!

'Those weapons must be maxed out Divine class at least!' He numbly thought.

"Ahh!" The lone female player cried out. He wasn't finished as he spun on his heel and kicked her, hard. Resulting in her slamming into a tree and a small chunk of HP disappearing.

"[Shadow Strike]!"

The rogue was the first to recover, activating a skill he blinked away and reappeared behind EMIYA. With insane reaction time, he twisted his arm and upper body to parry the rogue's sneak attack. Twirling, he righted himself and knocked the daggers away. He silently unleashed another barrage of slashes capitalizing on the opening. The HP of the rogue was diminishing just as quickly as the clerics.

"[Heavy Slash]!"

The warrior rushed forward, his sword shinning from his skill. The rogue managed to jump away to allow a path for his teammate to strike. The warrior brought the sword down with the intent of cutting the man in front of him in half. EMIYA raised his arms, bringing his weapons to intercept the attack. Yet again Momonga was meet with a shocking sight. Not only did his rather small blade blocked the warrior's massive sword but he also halted it completely. There was a bit of a struggle with both players locking blade but EMIYA remained untouched.

"[Heavy Bolt]"

EMIYA quickly let go and sidestepped. Any later and an arrow would have hit him. Instead, the arrow hit the warrior. It came from none other than the forgotten archer, who originally watched dazed but quickly spurred into action.

"S-Shit!" He cursed. "[Quick Shot]" The archer notched another arrow and it shot towards the dual-wielding player. Noticeably faster than his previous attack. With ease, EMIYA dodged the speeding arrow and closed the distance between the two. He rained down slashes on the ranged fighter, his HP reducing into the yellow in the blink of an eye. "G-get away! [Shadow Roll]" With one more skill used the archer crouched down and rolled backward. His body turning into wisps for just a moment to distance himself from the dominating player. EMIYA must have figured out his plan as he predicted the archer's course and intercepted him. Resulting in him standing behind the archer as he became tangible again.

With a roar, EMIYA raised his two swords and brought them downward in an X-motion against the unprotected archer's back. His HP reached zero and the sound of glass shattering accompanied his death. The player's body breaking into shards of light. His bow dropping as the prize.

"He got Shooot!"

"C-crap!"

"What the hell kind of rogue does that much damage!"

The once four-party team now reduced to three began to panic.

In just a minute of fighting, he killed their range support, reduce two players to half-health and did so without a single skill! Momonga silently took back every doubt he had of the man. To be that skilled, it was no wonder he didn't appear afraid of a balanced party. At this point, Momonga was completely forgotten from their minds. During their moment of panic, Momonga noticed that EMIYA was completely still. He was staring at the spot where he killed the archer.

"What happened?" Despite no facial animation, Momonga could easily hear the surprise in his voice. Why would he be surprised? Was he perhaps surprise that his attack did that much damage? But why would he? From what he remembered classes like those of the assassin or rogues have additional damage multipliers if they target the back of players.

"Calm down!" Momonga snapped out his musing from hearing the warrior raising his voice. "He just got lucky. We still outnumber him! Lucy revive Shoooot quickly!"

The party was organizing itself again. Momonga snapped his head back to EMIYA.

"You need to stop her or else she'll revive him!"

EMIYA head jerked back to him. A second later his body was already moving. A magic circle appearing at the caster's feet.

"Like we'll let you!" The warrior and rogue rushed him towards him.

Momonga clenched his fist. He wanted to help, truly wanted to. But as a lvl 2 his spells were more likely to bounce off than doing anything significant.

But yet again, EMIYA showed that he had it under control.

"Triple-linked Crane Wings!" Calling out the name of a skill he threw his swords.

What happened next would forever be ingrained in Momonga's mind. The weapon sailed passed the warrior towards the cleric. The rogue catching this re-positioned himself in front of the cleric and knocked away the weapon. The weapons continued to spin pass the cleric. The warrior let out a cry of excitement as in both their and Momonga's mind he just threw away his only weapons. And perhaps it would have been their victory if the two Dao blades didn't spin back around and attacked the backside of the cleric.

Caught off-guard her resurrection spell was interrupted and was canceled. The surprise didn't end there as EMIYA produced an identical copy of his thrown weapon back in his previously empty hands. With great finesse, he parried the warrior oncoming strike and slipped by him. Not stopping at that he threw his second pair of swords at the rogue. The two blades spinning towards the player slashing him. Producing a third pair, he blinked in front of the two. With a dramatic flair, EMIYA twisted his body and spun like a human top, his blades lashing out at the cleric and rogue, reducing their HP to zero. Their bodies shattering like glass, and now there was only one left.

"Fuck!" He cursed. The warrior, after seeing the rest of the party wiped out thanks to only one player made the only rational decision. Running away. Cursing the man that wiped his party the warrior ran away with his tails between his leg.

For a moment none spoke. Momonga because he was in disbelief at everything that had happened. EMIYA was once again staring down at the ground where the two players died.

"Hey, are You alright?" EMIYA asked, raising his head. The silver haired player cast his gaze towards the undead player and slowly made his way over. He stopped just short of a couple of steps. His arms lowered but still in position for any possible deception or attack.

"I-I…thank you." Momonga mentally chastised himself. He should at least thank his benefactor correctly. Standing up he looked the other player straight in the face. "I'm eternally grateful for your help. Thank you EMIYA-san!" The undead bowed.

"How do you know my name?!" EMIYA suddenly shouted. Immediately his body tensed and he raised his swords in an aggressive manner. This caught Momonga off-guard. Who held up both hands, quickly to placate his benefactor. "Answer me." EMIYA demanded.

 _'Did I do something wrong? Why is he making a big deal out of his name?!'_ Momonga panicked. It didn't help that EMIYA's player character face maintained a powerful heated glower.

"I will ask you again. How do you know my name?"

"…I can see it. Just like you can see mine." He shakingly answered back. With a bony finger, he pointed up above EMIYA and towards his own character nametag. EMIYA shifted his head upwards.

"Momonga?" He called out the undead name. Nodding, EMIYA slowly relaxed. "Sorry. I didn't expect you to know my name that's all." He respectfully apologized.

"Apologies accepted." Momonga immediately accepted.

"I do have another question. Do you happen to know where we are?"

"Umm…We're in the Tall Plains."

"What?"

'Perhaps he asking for something more specific?' Momonga reasoned. "It's an area near the starting town Luotenburg. In Vanaheim."

"Luotenburg? Vanaheim?" It seemed that the names went over his head as well. At this point, Momonga was feeling confused as well.

"Yes, Vanaheim. One of the nine playable worlds in YGGDRASIL."

"…Yggdrasil? As in the World Tree of Norse mythology?" EMIYA said.

"Yea, the main inspiration for the game."

"…I'm sorry but could you repeat that?" EMIYA said, his voice no louder than a whisper.

"Err… YGGDRASIL, the video game." Momonga helpfully replied.

EMIYA said no more. The silence that followed turned awkward as Momonga fidgeted in place. Did he say something else that displeased him? What was it that rendered him speechless. Whatever it was Momonga—

"ROOOOOOTTTTT-DAMN YOU ZELRETCH!"

—didn't expect EMIYA to suddenly scream at the top of his lung.

'Did he say Zelretch? Where have I heard of that name before? ... Oh! That's right. Is he talking about the founder and CEO of the company that made YGGDRASIL? That Zelretch?' Momonga mused as he watched his savior collapsed to his knees… and cry?

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **My first published fanfic.** **And practically 9k words in the prologue alone. I've always been one that enjoyed writing narrative more than I do dialogue, so hopefully I found a perfect balance with this. So you can expect at least 6k chapters at the minimum. But no promises. I've seen enough heart-breaks as it is on this website, and I'm not about to contribute to it! (Rest in peace all those great novels you've read but never ever updates. You all know the ones.)**

 **Theatrics aside, what do you all think? Good? Bad? Was it enjoyable? Or was it so awful you now need bleach for your brain because I've effectively ruined both Fate and Overlord for you?**

 **Do review, there's nothing like a nice review that motivate me to try and pump these out faster and faster.**

 **My thoughts: **

**1\. One of the things when I first planned this chapter was how to connect the two different world of Nasu universe and that of Overlord. The answer was obvious, Zelretch. However, I also wanted to add my own spin on things. Many Overlord fics I've read usually skipped over the game of YGGDRASIL. Which is a damn shame as the world building and idea from a purely gamer point of view has so many potential. Hence why I started Shirou off in YGGDRASIL first before reaching the New World.**

 **Of course it will reach that point, but I wanted to have the first few chapter establishing and laying the ground work for my future chapter. The ending being a prime example. Maybe no more than 4-5 chapter before embarking in the New World.**

 **2\. A second idea I had of combining the two different worlds was the issue of Gaia. With Overlord's world taking place in the twenty second century and from how the light novel describe a near dead earth I wanted to integrate that with the Nasu verse magical world. I did take some liberty with creating that back-story, in regards to Gaia, Alaya, and among other things in the Fate universe. I tried to make it important enough as backstory content and a catalyst to connect the two different worlds together. Basically I wanted the World of Overlord and Fate to make some sense, and I didn't simply wave it off like some authors would. Apologies if I stubbed some toes with my interpretation of the Fate universe and lore.**

 **3\. Zelretch. When I first came up with the idea, I immediately thought of the 'shitty devs' mentioned in light novel of Overlord. How they were massive trolls and sadists to their players. How fitting would it be for the biggest troll in the Nasu-verse to be the same one owning the company that develop the game. A game well known for screwing with their players. I couldn't pass up such an opportunity as it just make too much damn sense if so. I also hoped I did a job with my portrayal of everyone's lovable badass trolling vampire.**

 **4\. Shirou/EMIYA. Picking which Shirou to use was rather easy all thing considered. I don't much enjoy Fate!route Shirou as I see UBW!Shirou was a better version of that route. HeavensFeel!Shirou was actually my first choice when brain storming. I had plans to include characters like Sakura, Illya, Rin, and so on. I ultimately decided that, that idea was a bit too ambitious for a new writer like myself. For now, I'll keep it in the back of my head. I did consider alternate Shirou from Fate/Kaleid but didn't mesh well with my Zelretch idea so I scrapped it. By trial and elimination, UBW!Shirou won.**

 **For his new virtual body, it basically the same appearance as EMIYA as Archer. I would think a man like Zelretch find it funny in the irony of it all by placing Shirou into a body with the same appearance of his future and hated self.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Next Chapter: The World of YGGDRASIL**


	2. Welcome to YGGDRASIL

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or** **Overlord (** オーバーロード **). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and** **Overlord (** **オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **Wow, it's safe to say my expectations were blown away. Truth be told, I didn't check my profile for at least a day after I uploaded the chapter because I was getting the jitters. Nevertheless, I am grateful so many enjoyed my work. Only one chapter in and we already broke 220 favorites, 280 followers, and nearly 50 odd reviews! Thank you all so much!**

 **I hope I can continue holding your interest in this story.**

 **Thanks to some reviews I went back to edit some grammatical errors and fixed up the narrative so the story flowed better. Namely the level of Momonga, I wrote him to be level 3 instead of level 2 as I wrote his top level to be 32. Losing five levels for every death, it made no sense that his level was an odd number instead of even.**

 **Thank you for everyone that posted a review and I'll be answering some now.**

 **To ANTAGONlSTIC,** **alexkellar & StoryReiter** **: I believe this chapter will answer your question. The short answer: Yes, Shirou is indeed a Player. The idea of wandering boss or NPC did cross my mind, but I decided against it as there's another story very similar to the premise you suggested. [Raid Boss], a Harry PotterXOverlord cross over with Harry being mistaken for a raid boss. Check it out if you're interested.**

 **To** **ArmantusCumPinnae: Regarding Touch-Me. In the novel and anime, it was never stated when he saved Momonga. While the two scenario are very similar, I fully intend on including Touch-Me later on. The idea was introduce Shirou with a main member and allow for him to learn the world of Yggdrasil. Momonga was the best, and really only choice.**

 **To Ruberforumfree, Zathol, : To answer the pairing question, the short answer: no. When it comes to Albedo, the idea of a ship for her and anyone else never worked for me.** **The idea is interesting but the two contrasting personality would quite difficult to write and rationalize. Albedo general disdain for humanity and anyone that isn't considered a Supreme Being with Shirou's sense of humanity and altruism. I don't simply want to use the cliche answer of saying: Momonga changed her setting and she's forced to love him. I'm sure I can find some interesting interaction but for the moment its a no go.**

 **To miguel** **: In regards to your review and questions I'll be mainly using material from the main Fate/stay universe and some references here and there from the others series. For Fate Grand Order, while the game is very enjoyable and an interesting idea to take, I won't be including anything too large into the story. Apologies.**

 **To KhanhM: Not a bad idea. I might consider a design change for him just before heading to the New World. I can write it by saying how he got tired of being reminded of Archer and change his clothing using YGGDRASIL** **intricate** **crafting system. An idea to keep in mind down the road.**

 **To BoneDaddy25: Your question will be answered in this chapter.**

 **Regarding NPC creation: That I'll be keeping a secret, I don't wish to spoil anything just yet.**

 **The exchange between Shirou and Zelretch: Many seem confuse or rather divided in my interpretation. In the context of the dialogue we know that Shirou accepted Alaya's contract, thus when he dies he'll be chain to the Counter Force thus making it impossible to see either Rin or Saber. When Shirou stated "W** **ill I be able see them again?" it's in the context of if/when he does die will he be able to move past Alaya and see Rin and Saber in the after life. Hopefully that clears that part up.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

 **Edited: 2019**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Welcome to YGGDRASIL.**

 **May 27th, 2129. World: Jotunheim. The Forest of Descent. Recommended level: 50-55.**

"Shit!" A voice cursed. The source was from a blue fishman whose body was bedecked with fins and gills and on his form and layered by a combination of leather and metal armor. In his hand was a longsword of which the fishman heteromorph swung with the activation of his skill.

"[Aqua Slash]"

High pressurized water exploded from the guard of the sword. Swinging the blade, the stream of water splashed against his opponent's shield, held by a paladin - by appearance - in white armor emblazoned with symboled, with the weight of a small lake.

Before the aquatic theme player could press on, an incoming bolt of thunder flew from the side. The Fishman, forced to cancel his assault, stumbled back on reflex.

A mistake as it allowed the paladin to retaliate.

"[Holy Bash]" The paladin slammed his mace into the amphibian's side, gouging a good chunk of his health.

The blue skinned player, Aquamarine, reared back in pain, trying to put as much distance between himself and the paladin. Stealing a glance at his remaining party, Aquamarine grimaced. He and his five-man party journeyed here to power-farm EXP for their support mage to reach level 55. For an hour, it was smooth sailing, until another party of five ambushed them in the midst of conflict with the local mobs. Catching them unawares and giving them little time to react, the ambush party managed to take down said support mage, tipping the scales into their favor by one.

Currently, the victims were outnumbered.

Left with only a swordsman; himself facing a paladin, their golem tank; who was being overwhelmed by an assassin and spell slinging wizard of the enemy party, a centaur bowman; that was being locked in place by the enemy's tank, and finally the team's resident elven healer; of whom their golem tank was protecting. The enemy's healer kept at a safe distance. Made only more infuriating that he was constantly providing buffs and heals to his allies.

"Damn it! We can't win **Aquamarine**! We need to get out of here" shouted the half-horse half man heteromorph. **Awesome Horse**.

"If you a plan I'm all ears!" He retorted.

"Come on, come on! It's that all you got! I thought you monster players would be more of a challenge!" The paladin taunted. Growling, Aquamarine charged forward.

"[Triple Strike]" His sword glowing with the activation of the skill.

"[Stand Fast]" The paladin countered, his body glowing. [Triple Strike] landed, three slash attacks but thanks to the paladin's skill the damage was mitigated. "[Holy Concussive Force]" White light condensed in the center of the paladin's before a powerful shockwave exploded from him, slamming into the Heteromorph, knocking him back and reducing his HP into the red.

"Oh no. I've got you!" Seeing the swordsman low HP their healer rushed to help him. This slip allowed for the enemy's assassin to bypass the tank and go for the healer. He blinked behind her and stabbed his jagged dagger into her unprotected back taking her HP to zero. Their only healer shattering and disappearing, much like any hope of them getting out of this situation alive.

"Fuck! They got **White-ears."** Cried the golem tank.

Clenching his teeth, the fishman fought back the urge to scream. With their healer gone it was guaranteed that they would lose. Already the other's health bar was in the low yellow.

 _'Why? Why does this always happen?!'_ He lamented. They were just minding their own business, playing the game just anyone else. What did they do to deserve this?

Just as all hope seemed lost a miracle appeared.

The paladin held up his mace, light concentration at the tip. He got ready to unleash his skill. "Take this. [Holy Hammer Strike]!" Out of nowhere three small black and red blurs slammed into his back, breaking his charged-up attack. They exploded on contact, knocking him away from the blue humanoid amphibian. His health dropping all the way from green to red. This caused all fighting to stop, each party staring with wide eyes at the sudden attack.

"What the hell?!"

"I've got you!" No sooner did the enemy's healer proclaimed this that three more red and black bullets flew at him. They struck from behind and reduced his HP to zero. His character model shattering before he knew what just happened.

"What the!"

"Impossible!"

"Are we getting ambushed?!"

Cried out the players.

"Awesome Horse! Aquamarine!" The golem shouted to his friends. "Get behind me!" Trusting their friend and instincts the two rushed to the golem's side. The other party thoroughly distracted due to sudden turn of events were unprepared as a volley of black and red projectiles rained down on them.

"Ahhh!" They all screamed. Explosions rocked the area, kicking up smoke and dust. When the dust cleared all the PKers were gone, in their place were a piece of their equipment and gold coins indicating their death.

"We're alive? We're alive!" The centaur excitedly cheered.

"Y-yea. W-we are." The fishman sighed. A huge weight on his shoulder finally resolved.

"Yes, but I'm more curious as to who helped us." Questioned the golem.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked.

The three players turned towards the voice. Up above stood a lone player standing on a tree branch. They were surprised to see it was a humanoid player, dressed in deep crimson and black gear. Add onto the fact that the player was lvl 100. The group immediately tensed up seeing another possible PKer. At least until they noticed the massive black bow equipped.

Putting two and two together it wasn't hard figuring out who the newcomer was. "Are you the one that helped us." Pause. A quick look revealed the player's name; EMIYA "EMIYA-san?"

"Indeed." The player nodded. With a step, he dropped down to ground level. "I'm sorry I didn't jump in sooner. If I had I could have saved your friend. I needed to make sure they were actual PKer's."

"Hey man, it's cool." The centaur easily dismissed, still feeling the adrenaline of the situation. "They didn't take our bud's equipment's so it's all good." Losing five levels upon death was annoying but it wasn't unbearable. Losing a piece of valuable equipment, on the other hand, was indeed something to fret about.

"Ok. With your healer gone do you have any potions to heal yourselves?" Embarrassingly enough the three of them shook their heads, no. White-ears, their healer, was an exceptional player. Often keeping the party at full health with high level AOE healing. This often made carrying potions unnecessary or in most cases, them giving it to her to manage. The trade-off was that the spells required a charged-up time, something that bite them in the ass as the enemy party kept on interrupting her.

"I see. Here, take these." Aquamarine watched as the archer waved his hand, operating his menu, and three potions appeared. With a casual toss each member caught one. A crystal vial filled with a rainbow coloured liquid. His eyes widened, recognizing the item their mysterious saver gave to them.

An omega potion. One of the highest-grade potions in the game. Not only providing full health restoration but increases all stats for the duration of an hour. A rather rare item that required a fair share of ingredients to make or gold to purchase. Potions like these were kept as reserved for raids or dungeon exploration.

And he just handed them out like nothing!

"T-thanks!" They all gave their thanks and downed the potion. With their HP no longer an issue the next matter was the loot. Awesome Horse and Aquamarine went to retrieve their fallen comrade's gear to later hand back to them. They dare not touch the loot of the PKers. EMIYA killed them so he was entitled to them. With that taken care of the three were about to say farewell but EMIYA surprised them yet again.

"You're not going to pick up the loot?" He asked.

"Huh?" The three looked back, EMIYA standing there with his hands crossed. The various loot of the players before still there. It seemed that the only thing he bothered taking was the gold. "You're not going to take them?"

EMIYA shrugged. "There isn't anything worth wild for me to take. I figured you might find some more uses for them than I would."

Once again, they were taken back by the generosity of the man. Already he went beyond the call of duty, helping them out with an ambush, providing them with high-grade healing potions, and now allowing them to leave with loot that EMIYA rightfully earned. It did make sense that EMIYA wasn't interested in them as the loot were worthless for a max level player like himself but it was the thought that really counted. Respectfully accepting the offer the three pocketed the items. They even asked if they could add him to their friends list and to their pleasure EMIYA agreed.

"Will you be needing some help getting back to your friends? I won't mind tagging along if needed." The archer offered.

"No, no. We can make it on our own EMIYA-san. You've done more than enough for us. Please, your generosity is too kind." A look from the other two confirmed this.

"… Very well. Take care you three." With that said EMIYA dashed away, his body gone from their sight a second later.

 _'I hope we can talk and meet each other again soon EMIYA-san.'_ Thought the amphibian. His respect for the humanoid player at an all time high.

* * *

In Shirou's long and adventurous life he has seen and done many things. He could confidently say that little to nothing can surprise him at his age. With good reason too. He has traveled across the world, seeing and experiencing everything from the ancient structures that stood the test of time to downtrodden and war-torn third world countries. That's not including the various creatures and people Shirou also happened to have the pleasure of meeting. And more often than ought, to kill.

The magus has fought everything from heroic spirits, undead, apostles, phantasm beasts, other magus, rogue magus, insane cultists, the occasional ancient spirits. If he was really unlucky, then he would be facing multiple of them at the same time.

This dangerous lifestyle has led to him developing a rather thick skin. Hard to scare or surprise someone who has once fought multiple Dead Apostles in an underground sewer filled to the brim with undead and rotten flesh. Again, Shirou underestimated Zelretch's propensity.

A game.

Shirou was in a Root-damned video game!

He knew it was too good to be true. Even when the old vampire promised to help, he would always find a way to twist it into his favor. Honestly, Shirou shouldn't be surprised but he was.

"Too late now Shirou. You made your bed, all that is left is to lie on it." Shirou spoke aloud. Even after a month of living in this new world, it was still getting to him. Time dedicated to familiarizing himself with the world and everything that the game has to offer.

YGGDRASIL. Sharing its name with that of the World Tree from Norse mythology. A massive open-world game that allowed for near limitless player-freedom. With nine different and distinct worlds to travel and explore. YGGDRASIL was the name of the famous DMMO-RPG, developed by Kaleidoscope Industry. The company was founded and run by Zelretch himself. The game was notorious for its difficulty, only giving the players the barest bone of instruction before dropping into this world for them to learn as they go. And dying. Lots and lots of dying and exploration. Not to mention the various sadistic and downright evil mechanics and events that can take place at any possible moment.

Remembering how Momonga described the developers of the game as sadists and trolls; giving them the appropriate moniker of 'shitty devs' by the community. It made total sense that Zelretch of all people would be their CEO. A company full of pranksters with the same twisted sense of humor as the Dead Apostle, Shirou shuddered at such a thought. Despite their less than reputable reputation, no one can deny that YGGDRASIL was a game that the developers poured their blood, sweat, and tears into. A game that has remained at the very top and beating every rival game for over five years.

Speaking of Momonga, Shirou was grateful that he met and befriended the undead mage. Were it not for him, he would have little to no clue about where he was or what he was doing. He knew that his questions were rather telling, often resulted in Momonga questioning him on how he didn't know such things despite being a 'veteran' of the game. Thankfully Momonga never pushed and Shirou was eternally grateful for that. He can just imagine the nightmare of explaining to his friend that a vampire troll transported him into the game. The last thing he wanted was for his first companion to think he was crazy.

The first week of his new life in the virtual world wasn't kind to him. Especially with how difficult the game was and how knowledge and information were coveted like how a magus would covet their family secret magecraft. The lack of information only made it more infuriating when he first cast Structural Analysis on himself that first week.

"Structural Analysis." Casting the magecraft on himself, he first needed to determine just how strong his new body was. Whereas before the information such as active magic circuits or his pool of Prana and Od would be tallied and filtered to his mind. Instead, a small screen appeared that read:

* * *

Stat Screen:

EMIYA – Lvl: 100

 **The (Fake) Hero**

Job: None.

Resident: None.

Alignment: Greater Good. Sense of Justice: 450

Race: Homo-magi

Racial level: None, human races don't have Race level.

Job level:

[Magus]: 15 lvl

[Specialized Magus]: 10 lvl

[Expert]: 10 lvl

[Master Chef]: 10 lvl

[Blacksmith]: 10 lvl

[Blade Master]: 10 lvl

[Archer]: 10 lvl

[Magus Killer]: 10 lvl

[Hero]: 5 lvl

[Heroic Spirit]: 5 lvl

[Counter Guardian]: 5 lvl

Total: 0 racial level + 100 job level = 100 level

Ability Chart:

HP: 75

MP: 85

PHY. ATK: 80 (Adaptable)

PHY. DEF: 70 (Adaptable)

Agility: 85 (Adaptable)

MAG. ATK: 35 (Adaptable)

MAG. DEF: 65 (Adaptable)

Resist: 85 (Adaptable)

Special: 100

Total Stats: 680

* * *

The screen reminded Shirou very much of that of a Servant's stat chart. Listing parameters such as strength and speed, to alignment and races. Shirou spent the better part of three days looking over the stats trying to make heads or tails of it all. Sure, there were now numerical values placed on certain abilities for him to quantitate but with no point of reference he had no idea if they were any good or not. Especially compared to other players.

That's not mentioning his various job classes. Momonga explained to him that there were three viable races; humanoids, demi-humans, and heteromorph. He explained that each different race offered their own different play styles and advantages and disadvantages. Humanoid players don't get any racial classes and instead are allowed multiple job classes, allowing for versatility. This is balanced out as humanoid players only receive one skill point to just when leveling. Heteromorph as he pointed out have both the advantage of picking racial classes and earning three skill points. Allowing them to even out the playing field and spec builds into powerhouses.

A passing glance at them told Shirou that each job class corresponded with an aspect of himself. Magus, Specialized Magus, Magus killer, Master Chef, and Blacksmith were obvious examples, being attributes and occupations in his old life. Blade Master, Archer, and Expert were perhaps referring his skill as he was often regarded as a dangerous swordsman and archer during his freelancing days. It was the last three that truly confused him. Hero, Heroic Spirit, Counter Guardian. He could only assume Zelretch had a hand in deciding that especially with how on the nose they were. Considering YGGDRASIL stance when it came to information and knowledge of the game, he was no closer to figuring it out.

At first, Shirou was worried about what to do next. Learning that he was stuck in a video game, he wondered what was Zelretch's goal in all of this. Mistake number one, he never did ask Zelretch on 'how' he would have helped him. A small grim part of him hoped that when he stabbed the Jeweled Sword into Shirou it would have killed him, and he would be on his way to the afterlife. Free of Alaya and to join Saber and Rin. Instead, he was dumped into a virtual world with little to no idea what to do.

Without a direct method of reaching Zelretch, he was effectively stuck with no way out. Well, unless he killed himself but that was a grim thought he didn't entertain. That, and he wasn't too sure if it would work or not as his body was completely virtual and abide by the rule of YGGDRASIL'S. More than likely he would just respawn like any normal player. The damn vampire wouldn't have had it any other way.

In the coming week Shirou found a way to preoccupy himself. He quickly learned that YGGDRASIL wasn't as safe as it seems. In this world players that play as Heteromorphs or demi-humans are routinely hunted down and PKed as Momonga would say. Player Killing, an appropriate naming. This was because there was no penalty in killing heteromorphic races and some specific demi-humans. He went on to quote the devs saying "We wish for a sense of grounded realism within our world."

Shirou couldn't felt but feel the irony of it all. Players playing as these different races are hunted and killed by humanoids, namely, human-race playing players, mirroring how many monsters and phantasm beasts in the real world hunted humans. Made even more ironic considering Shirou now acts as a defender for the heteromorphic players.

When Momonga first describe how heteromorph players were treated Shirou thought he was exaggerating. He understood it was a game, thus it wasn't real. He chopped up the hunting and attacking of heteromorphic players as simply a part of human nature for conflict. Yet, the fervor in which Shirou saw firsthand in how many players went about attacking and hunting heteromorphs and demi-human players was beyond ridiculous. No one batted an eye towards the issue and those in the heteromorphic player community are drowned out by PKers. There were even guilds with the sole purpose of PKing heteromorphic players like it was a sport!

If Shirou had to list a positive, it would be the changes to his body. With his body and consciousness being completely made of lines and codes he was no longer restricted like everyone else. He could play all day and not feel fatigued once, allowing him to accomplish tasks with ease.

The most interesting and curious aspect that changed when his body became fully digital was his magecraft. For a lack of a better world, it _integrated_ with the World rules and systems. His magecraft and by extension Unlimited Blade Works received a massive overhaul. His projection could and would never reach the same level as their original counterpart. This due in part to his own limitation and that of the waning level of prana back on Earth. Resulting in Shirou tracing the weapon a lower grade than its original. In YGGDRASIL however, that was thrown out of the window.

No longer was he restricted in what he could and couldn't projected. Take for example Kanshou and Bakuya he used when saving Momonga. A simple and favored Noble Phantasm of his that pulled him through many times in the past. Easy to trace, but rather weak. In this new world, it wasn't the case. During one of his experiments, he cast Structural Analysis on the two blades. What he found shocked him. The married blade, a rather weak Noble Phantasm in his previous life were classified as Divine tier weapon. The highest grade of any equipment or weapon within YGGDRASIL.

YGGDRASIL has a ranking system in regards to measuring one's equipment and weapon's strength and status. Starting at the bottom with low tier equipment to the highest, divine tier. His projected weapons could and would never reach the strength of their original counterpart. At least, not without Shirou resulting in making Broken Phantasms and the like. Point being, he couldn't make something like Kanshou and Bakuya, C-rank Noble Phantasm is up to the level on an EX Noble Phantasm no matter how much prana or Od he could use back in the real world. The traced copies wouldn't be able to handle it. The same couldn't be said for within YGGDRASIL.

Further experimentation revealed to him why. Unlimited Blade Works was rewritten in a sense and improved upon. Shirou learned that he could manually raise or lower the tier of his traced Noble Phantasms. If he wanted, he could make a simple nondescript sword Noble Phantasm as powerful as a Divine tier weapon or traced something like Gáe Bolg, a Noble Phantasm with a rating of B+ and have it to be no stronger than D rank Noble Phantasm.

To say that Shirou was baffled with a major understatement. It had its cost, of course, higher tier tracing required more mana to be used. But that wasn't an issue either. If his calculation was correct, and it was as he checked it over five times, then now with the boost in his mana level Shirou in his new virtual body he could easily imitate Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon method of attack. Aka, spamming various Noble Phantasm at his opponents without care— regardless of the Noble Phantasm rank and cost for a few minutes.

Of course, just because he **could** do it doesn't mean he **should**. Shirou was never one to flaunt his strength and power like Gilgamesh would have. If there was one thing he agreed with when it came to the magus isolationist nature back on earth it was that information was power. The less that it was known, the less likely chance it was for someone to find a method to counter it. If the world of YGGDRASIL had something to rival his Unlimited Blade Work of course.

The only question he had left was how his reality marble would now work. A test for another time.

A beeping sound knocked him out of musing. It was a message, from Momonga.

"[EMIYA: Momonga-san? Is there something you need?]" Shirou answered.

"[Momonga: Hello EMIYA-san. And yes, I-I was wondering…if you could help me with something. That is if you're not busy or anything.]" Momonga awkward asked.

Shirou couldn't help but chuckle amusingly at the undead's awkwardness. Over the past weeks, Shirou spent a great deal of time with Momonga. Both to learn more about the world and to hang out with him. They both enjoyed each other's company as both were a bit of a heavy loner. His player character being undead didn't help in the friend's department either. The man was respectful but very awkward at times. This often led to bouts of silence when the two played together.

"[EMIYA: No problem. What do you need?]"

"[Momonga: I require your assistance with this one area. It's home to a certain type of undead that will allow me to gain a job class that I've been missing.]"

"[EMIYA: Understood. Send me a waypoint marker and I'll be there as soon as I can.]"

A smiling face emoticon appeared in the chat.

"[Momonga: Thank you again EMIYA-san! You have no idea how much this means.]"

"[EMIYA: No need for that Momonga-san. It's only natural to help someone in need. Give me a couple of minutes.]"

With that, the chat ended. Shirou looked at the destination that Momonga sent for him. [The Fields of Torment and Memory]. Located in Helheim, the realm of the dead. How fitting.

"[Reinforcement]!" Pumping more mana into his magecraft turned skill he sped through the area, ignoring any and all mobs in the way. His speed makes it easy for him to outrun any possible enemies. Their AI programming giving chase until they reach their maximum parameter before returning to their programmed route. Coming upon the closest town Shirou made his way to the center. There lies a Transporter Gate which allows for players to teleport to and from the nine playable realms. Selecting the world of Helheim, the gate shined with light bathing him in blue and purple.

 **World: Helheim. Town: Frysta lāk**

The change in the environment was instant. The open and clear blue sky of Jotunheim replaced with looming clouds that blanked the sky. A sense of melancholy completing the transition from Realm of the Giants to the Realm of the Dead.

The location where the two would meet up was called the [Crypt of the Wandered]. A structure that leads directly into the [The Fields of Torment and Memory]. The location was a fair distance from the starting towns. Opening his world map Shirou calculated that the quickest way there was to cut through a connect area known as The Smothering Gorge. A landmass with a massive gorge cutting up the middle filled with icy water. Mobs within the Gorge lie something around level 60-65. Players would need to either pay for a ferry across from an NPC or fly be it through magic or of avian race. For Shirou, all he needed was his [Reinforcement].

With his destination set, he took off. The white landscape blurred as he shot through the world of Helheim like a bullet. Shirou expanded his senses as he traveled at a speed no player could achieve naturally. Shirou was sad to learn that his sense of smell was stunted due to the hardware limitation of allowing smell within the game. His sense of smell was his greatest tool when hunting in the past. It wasn't all bad, however. His sight and hearing made up for this, made even better with the application of [Reinforcement] to one of the two senses.

Of note, this was particularly handy when he was out on his patrol and came across a group of PKers. His sight allowing him to catch the littlest of details and granting him sight to determine if or when he should interfere. Shirou's improved hearing helping him differentiate whether the situation was a PvP (player versus player) or PvE (player versus environment).

Like now for example.

Shirou's eye caught the distinct glow of a spell circle. A powerful if the thundering explosions were anything to go by. A small detour saw Shirou stopping on an open field, one of many that plotted the area around the gorge. Reinforcing his eye, like a telescope he focused his sight on an image over the horizon. The player's names and levels were the first to reveal themselves.

 **Heavy Hands: Lvl – 82**

 **Ruliing Berkser: Lvl – 70**

 **SeetheLIGHT** **: Lvl – 80**

 **Super Durable** **Lvl – 75**

 **Merlin#885: Lvl – 74**

 **FEEltheHEAT: Lvl – 73**

 **Peroroncino: Lvl – 59.**

 **Bukubukchagama: Lvl – 84.**

It was indeed a fight alright and as he thought, six humanoid players against two heteromorphic players by the looks of it. One a gelatinous pink slime and the other, a humanoid avian. The situation looked to be a perfect example of a PK hunting party. On the surface anyway. Shirou noted that the fighting looked recent by how much HP both group of players still possessed.

Shirou was never one for excessive force unless absolutely necessary. If he believes they weren't completely guilty of whatever action they took he would show them mercy. He applied the same mindset when going on his patrols. Depending on the situation, if it was a malicious PK party, he would wipe them out without hesitation. Should he come across a battle where both sides evenly matched, he would leave them alone. If it was neither case and it was a situation such as this where Shirou had no information to go off of he would play it safe. He would always start by sniping one of their players to use as a warning of sorts. A smart party would know when to call it quits, especially when it came to YGGDRASIL's punishment system.

"Trace on." Blue motes of light gather and, in his hand appeared a massive black bow and in his other hand, an arrow. A black steel shaft with an equally black feathered fletching was notched back. The distance between him and them was easily two kilometers or so. For Shirou who had the aid of his Hawk-eye, reinforcement and prior skills back on Earth, it was almost child's play. It helped that they were grouped up together, so he didn't need to worry about being too accurate. Such a distance away would also register for his sneak attack multiplier bonus.

Particles of black energy began to form and coalesce at the arrow's tip. Shirou poured as much mana as the arrow would allow. Once it couldn't be filled anymore, he released it.

The arrow flew true, the mass of mana forming a black interior with a crimson outline around the arrow. No longer did it look like an arrow, baring a strikingly similar image of a powerful Gandr shot. It would be a second for it to hit its mark.

A second arrow appeared in Shirou's hand at the ready.

* * *

"I don't think we're going to get out of this alive nee-chan." The bird-man heteromorph player, Peroroncino, said to his sister.

"This wouldn't have happened if you'd listened to me! Buuuut~ Noooo." Whined the pink slime, Bukubukchagama. An angry emoticon directed towards the feathered player.

"I said I was sorry!" He exclaimed. An open mouth frowning face emoticon appearing.

Bukubukchagama sighed.

The day started out so well for the brother and sister duo. The sister recently got back from an interview for an upcoming job. The whole week she was a nervous wreck, constantly fretting that she would be rejected. Her fears were put to rest as they so impressed by her performance that they hired her on the spot. Signing a fair contract and a nice salary to boot. The brother, through some channels, managed to get into contact with someone to receive an early copy of an eroge in the popular franchise: Hyper Lover Magical Girl. A franchise known for its rather gratuitous lewd scenes.

With both of their spirits high, the two decided to spend some time together in YGGDRASIL together and relax. That lasted all but five minutes before Peroroncino decided he wanted to re-spec his character and switch from a nimble swashbuckler to a death paladin.

Again.

The female slime couldn't help by groaned in frustration. Her brother was an incredibly indecisive individual when it came to playing YGGDRASIL. It was rather common for him to suddenly decide that he wanted to switch his current player class for something 'cool.' First, it was a roaming battlemage, then it was a stealthy assassin, and then it was beast tamer. And on and on it went. Her perverted brother couldn't stick to something even if his life depended on it.

And being the loving, and kindhearted elder sister that she was, she agreed to help him gather the needed material to reach said job and racial class. Everything was going fine until they happened to run across another party, and just their luck PKers. The group was also farming the area for the same material they were farming for. Here, it would have been simple to just carefully ignore them, leave, and come back another time. Unfortunately, her brother made a smart-ass comment to the group. One thing led to another and now they were fighting said party.

Peroroncino grunted. In his hands a pair of rapiers as he blocked an attack from a humanoid player wielding two flaming axes, **Ruliing Berkser**. "Damn it. We could really use some help." He muttered. "Hey! Kami or whoever is listening! Could you like help us out or something?! Please?!"

The avian screamed to the virtual sky above, in part voicing his frustration. No one really believed such a declaration would do anything. Until something black and red sped across the field straight towards the enemy players. Too quick for any of them to react, it struck the center of a player dressed in white church-like garb. **SeetheLIGHT**. The player's HP hitting zero in record time. One of the mages, **FEELtheHEAT** ; dressed in a bright red robe with flames adorning the hem of it, was caught in the explosion but survived.

The unexpected attack halted any more fighting from both groups.

"What the hell?!

"S-shit! We have a sniper!"

"Move! Move! We're fish in a barrel out here in the open!"

Seeing one of their members taken out by surprise they panicky organized themselves, backing away from the two Heteromorph. Bukubukchagama was surprised too but quickly shook out of her stupor. They needed to move as well, lest they too are caught in the crossfire of the ambush. Peroroncino on the other hand—

"Hey Kami! I would also like a blonde gyaru girlfriend who's also a sex addict. Oh! And with big breasts!"

— was being the same perverted little brother, she knew he was. Leave it to him to try to misinterpret a lucky break for some kind of true divine intervention.

The slime slapped a tendril against her gelatinous body, the equivalent of a facepalm.

"Otouto." The elder sister hissed. "Stop fooling around and get behind me!" Whoever the attacker was, was powerful if they managed to drop a level 80 character with only one shot. As a tank herself, her points in physical and magical defense should be enough to defend along with some spells for addition armor and defense if needs be. The same couldn't be said for her brother hence her exasperated voice telling him to fall back.

"[Greater Iron Body], [Fortify Defense], [Fortify Magic Defense]!" Three different defensive spells layered the slime's body.

The other party had a similar idea. The five remaining members grouped up. A player dressed in brilliant silver bulky armor stood at the front, **Super Durable,** with a tower shield in each hand. In addition to their vigilant shield, two of the mages erected multiple barriers on top of them. Their heads swerving from one direction to another to find their mysterious attacker. Neither group said anything, only waiting to see what the attacker would do next. The strange part was, nothing came for the first thirty seconds.

With such a successful surprise attack it was common sense to follow it up completely to ensure their target doesn't have time to recover. Instead, all they got was silence.

Suspicious, the axe wielding player turned to address the second mage of the party with blue robes and a golden staff. **Merlin#885.**

"What's going? Where are they?"

"Let me see. [Widen magic: Seeker's Gaze]!" An incorporeal flux of invisible air expanded outwards and continued to travel a great distance. The spell used was a 7th tier spell that allowed the user to know and mark any noticeable players or creatures in a certain set radius. The Widen meta magic enchantment increased the range of the spell even further.

"What the hell!" The mage exclaimed. The sheer disbelief could be heard by both groups. "I can't find them. It says there are no players within at least one kilometer of us!"

"No way!"

"Impossible!"

"A-are you sure?"

"What kind of range is that?!"

Protest and voices rose up at the knowledge their attacker was further than they originally thought. Bukubukchagama and Peroroncino were stunned into silence. To attack from such a distance, was that even possible?

"Calm down!" An authoritative voice ordered. All words died down as the party, and even Bukubukchagama and Peroroncino turned towards the source. The final member of the party, a fully armored dwarf with a massive warhammer as his weapon. **Heavy Hands**. The leader of the party if she had to guess. "If what you said is right, then that means he attacked us from over a kilometers away." He addressed the mage.

"Y-yes…" stammered the mage, reeling from the shock of the knowledge.

The hammer wielding player said no more and simply turned his attention back to surrounding. His helm obscuring his face as he gazed across the horizon. "If he could make such a shot, then why hasn't he followed it up?"

"…Maybe he ran out of mana or something?" The axe wielding barbarian supplied unhelpfully. The dwarf turned to him. Despite having no facial animation Bukubukchagama can easily imagine the deadpanned look he was giving.

"If that was the case, then why attack us in the first place if he can only manage one singular attack." He explained. "To attack from such a distance away, he wouldn't have done unless he was absolutely confident he could hit us. The only other option is that he's choosing not to. That is also something that I don't get, why not bombard us seeing as he has the range and power to do so. Unless… [Heteromorph Savior]?" He trailed off

Heteromorph Savior? Bukubukchagama caught the tail end of it. The player spoke just loud enough that Bukubukchagama heard that phrase. To her that name held no meaning whatsoever. The same couldn't be said for everyone else as everyone immediately started talking over themselves, louder than before. Guess they knew who he was.

"No way… So, he is real." Apparently so too did his little brother.

"Otouto. Who are you talking about?" She whispered.

"He's a player that's been getting a lot of traction on the forums."

Ah. That would explain it. While Bukubukchagama was an avid gamer she typically stayed away from the various forums around YGGDRASIL. Her brother was the one that would have the time and patience to dig through the various message boards filled with complaints and false information made by trolls. A quick summary from Peroroncino explained that he was a humanoid player that appeared roughly three weeks ago. He would go around counter Pking players that were actively hunting heteromorph and demi-human players. Various stories and complaints sprung up on the player about how their parties would be wiped out from out of nowhere.

Most wrote this off as the YGGDRASIL forums weren't known for an accurate source of information. That didn't stop the mysterious player from continuing to be a thorn in the side of many hunting parties.

"What do we do boss?" One of them asked.

"…We pack it up. No point in fighting a losing battle."

"Shouldn't we also try to grab Light's stuff?" Another questioned, pointing to the dropped equipment of their fallen companion."

"No. It's already a gamble that he hasn't attacked us already. There's no guarantee that this [Heteromorph Savior] won't attack us if we make a move for it. I'm not risking my own gear on a losing hand." The dwarf reasoned. Better to lose one party member gear than to possibly lose everyone else's. Every member of the party nodded. There was still little known about this particular player, so they need to be cautious. On his signal, the party's mage dropped the barrier. Most were worried that the [Heteromorph Savior] would attack once they were vulnerable, but it was unfounded as nothing came. The party backed away and ran.

"We…we're alive." The slime sighed in relief. "Come on, let's not push our luck and get out of here."

"Actually…I was wondering if we can stay."

"What?" The elder sister stared back at her younger brother. "Why?!"

"I want to meet him." Peroroncino answered simply. "Come on nee-chan, aren't you curious as well. This is perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity! Words is that the player is a really cool guy. I doubt he'll do something crazy as PK us just after he chased away those PKers. "

"…fine." Bukubukchagama relented. "How do you intend to get his attention?"

Peroroncino's answer to his sister's question was a simple smiling emoticon. The wings on his back spread open and with a mighty flap he took to the sky.

 _'Huh… I forgot all about that.'_ Bukubukchagama mused. As a heteromorph avian one of his initial racial skills was flight. A feature that he all but ignored as most of the time the feature wouldn't have worked well with whatever job class he was running at the time. Reaching an appropriate height Peroroncino began screaming, saying "Over here. Over here."

If she was being honest, she was indeed extremely curious. A player that was actively saving heteromorphic player, that was unheard of. Well, besides the local rumor of the recent World Champion going around enacting justice or whatever.

The sibling waited to see if their mysterious saver would show up or not. Bukubukchagama was not disappointed. Squinting to catch the faint form of a player was steady making his way over. Peroroncino, seeing his idea worked descended to join his sister. A few seconds later they were joined by their mysterious savior.

The player was a full-fledged human. He was dressed primarily crimson and black, with tanned skin, silver hair and captivating heterochromatic eyes of silver and gold. Strangely enough, he didn't have any weapons on him he noted.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Bukubukchagama couldn't stop the sudden shudder she experienced. His voice was deep and baritone, reminding the slime player of famous actors that were cast as suave gentlemen in her favorite shows and movie. At the same time, his words were spoken softly and gently, similar to how a grandfather would greet their grandchildren. An interesting contrast if she ever heard of one.

"Are you him? The [Heteromorphic Savior]? I bet you are!" Peroroncino closed the distance between the two, practically getting in his face and invading the human's personal space.

"Don't be rude!" Bukubukchagama snapped out of her daze and scolded her hyperactive brother. She even slapped him upside the head for good measure. "I'm sorry about that EMIYA-san. On behalf of me and my idiotic little brother thank you for saving us."

"Geez, nee-chan your violent side is showing." Peroroncino wryly muttered. This earned him another smack. "Oww, ok I got it."

EMIYA looked between the two and let out a simple chuckle. "It's no problem. I'm glad that I could have help."

"Pardon me EMIYA-san, but HOW did you help us? Especially from so far away? You don't appear to be a long-range mage or sniper?"

Here, EMIYA remained silent for a few seconds. Without a word, he stretched his left and open palm. A long black bow appeared, with a length that surpasses EMIYA's character model.

"You…you mean to say you attack from over a kilometer away with a simple bow?" The bow was anything simple but the question was sensible.

"About two kilometers to be exact." The archer nonchalantly corrected.

"T-that's impossible! No way you can attack from that far away." Amongst the various playstyles and job classes, archers were suited for medium to long-range instead of ultra-long-range encounters. This was due to YGGDRASIL real-time commands as the players had to manually notch every arrow and release them. In addition, different terrain and environment may make it hard for a clear shot. A sniper playstyle has the benefit of using a rifle with a scope to allow for better accuracy. Specialized long-range mage can use various spells to detect and mark enemies and players for their spells as some have auto tracking.

"Perhaps, but YGGDRASIL is a big game after. While you haven't seen it before doesn't mean it isn't possible or viable." EMIYA smoothly countered. To that, the pink slime had to admit he was right. The devs had gone on record, multiple times stating YGGDRASIL's main draw was its near limitless freedom in customization and playstyle.

"Whoa…so cool!" Peroroncino whispered, awe coloring his words. Bukubukchagama instantly recognized that tone of voice.

"If you don't mind, I have a question of my own." EMIYA politely asked.

"Of course. What may that be EMIYA-san?"

"A moment ago, you referred to me as [Heteromorphic Savior]. Why is that?"

"I believe my brother can help you with that. He knows more about that than I do."

"Ah…Right!" Peroroncino straightened up. "You've been making a name for yourself on YGGDRASIL's forums over the last week. Those in the Heteromorphic player community came up with a nickname for you. Hence why people are referring to you as [Heteromorphic Savior]."

There was more to it than that. Throughout the numerous patrols and ambushes, he participated in it typically resulted in a complete wipe of the party or them running away. Mainly due to his impressive archery skill and abusing the sneak attack damage multiplier resulting in most of the players killed to never see EMIYA's nametag. Save for the players that he rescued. A general description was finally drafted together, containing a description of his attire and race but never his name. Those in the heteromorphic community kept quiet, fearing he would be hunted so they came up with the epithet: [Heteromorphic Savior] in order to hide his nametag, if only for a little while.

"Although, I am curious as to how you don't know this. Doing something like ambushing PK parties is bound to rile some people up. Don't you check the forums?" The bird-man questioned.

For moment EMIYA's body stilled but it passed far to fast for either Peroroncino or Bukubukchagama to notice. "Right…the forums...O-of course!" He awkwardly trailed off. The two siblings shared a look, or more accurately the emoticon of a face with a raised eyebrow appear to signify their confusion. In the end, the two waved it off as unimportant. "In any case." EMIYA cleared his throat. "Thank you for answering my question. I'll be on—"

"Wait! There's something I want to ask you!" Peroroncino interrupted. "Please teach me how to be a [Archer] just like you!

 _'Of course.'_ The elder sister mentally rolled her eyes. He changed his mind, again. No doubt her brother was captivated EMIYA's amazing display and wish to replicate it.

EMIYA on his part took a careful look at Peroroncino "Is that so? Well…" He was cut off again but not by the avian heteromorph this time. With a swipe of his hand, a recognizable message screen appeared. "Has it been that long?" He muttered, reading the message before addressing the two again. "Sorry, I promised a friend that I would meet up with him. I didn't expect this to take as long as it did, and he got worried."

"Oh. My apologies for taking up your time EMIYA-san. Please, do not let us get in your way."

"But nee-chan, I still want to ask him some questions." The little brother whined.

"We've already taken enough time from him as it is, be considerate Otouto."

"…Actually." EMIYA spoke up. "If you want you can join me. I'll be more than happy to answer some of them on the way there."

"Really?! Yosh!" Peroroncino happily exclaimed.

"Are you sure EMIYA-san? I don't wish to intrude." The pink slime said.

"I certainly do mind, nor do I think my friend will. Besides, we can use an extra pair of hands on the way. Assuming that you aren't busy yourself."

No. Both Bukubukchagama and Peroroncino made sure today they were completely free to play without any worry. Time wasn't an issue. Not to mention her little brother would complain her ear off if she refused to join.

"Very well. Thank you for allowing us to join." The slime gave her thanks.

With two new companions, the newly formed party of three made their way out of [The Smothering Gorge]. A ferry was taken as Bukubukchagama couldn't swim so EMIYA took the time they have to answer some of Peroroncino's question.

Questions like;

"How far can you shoot from?"

"What kind of build do you run?"

"What job classes should I invest in to be like you?"

"What would you recommend?"

To her surprise, he answered them with patience and zeal. Another mark that told her that he was genuine. For EMIYA to not only divulge but even help in replicating such a powerful build spoke highly of his character. Information was worth its weight in yen in YGGDRASIL, especially information on powerful character builds and he was giving it out freely. For first impression, she would say that he passed with flying marks. Within minutes their short journey was over, and they were on their way.

Following EMIYA's lead, the three traversed the plans of Helheim. As they made their way south, the sky slowly darkened in addition to buildings and structures popping up. Various tombstones and debilitated statues sprung up indicating that they were entering another section of the massive playable world. Eventually, they came to a ruined cemetery with broken tombstones littering the courtyard. A mausoleum lies in the center, vines, and cracks layering within the stony confines.

"Momonga-san, are you here?" EMIYA called out.

Bukubukchagama ears caught the faint noise of something shuffling about. From behind one of the ruined architectures, another something appeared. It was undead that much was obvious from the skeletal face. He wore a black robe decorated with gold accents that formed symbols on the clothing. In his hand was a twisted staff.

 **Momonga: Lvl – 80**

"EMIYA-san? Sorry, I didn't realize it was you. I laid out some ward spells just in case any PKers might come around. I saw three dots moving towards here and assumed the worst." The undead skeleton explained.

"It's fine. I should have messaged you back. My fault." EMIYA apologies.

"Pardon me EMIYA-san but I would assume these two were your latest rescue?"

"Have I become that predictable Momonga-san?" The silver hair player chuckled. "Yes, I helped them out of a PK party."

"I see." Momonga nodded. "Greetings Bukubukchagama-san, Peroroncino-san." The undead bowed.

"Hello to you too Momonga-san." Bukubukchagama returned the gesture.

"Yo~" Peroroncino informally replied.

"I do hope you don't mind if they tag along. I figured it would be easier to help you if we have more players on hand."

"It's no trouble EMIYA-san." The skeleton quickly assured. "I trust you. With four players, this should make the quest that much easier."

"Now that we've patted each other on the back, let's get to it!" declared the feathered humanoid before rushing into the mausoleum.

"Idiot." Bukubukchagama sighed. The three quickly ran in to join their excited companion.

* * *

 **May 31th, 2129. World: Nidavellir. Location: The Forest of Everclear. Recommended level: 45-50**

Within Nidavellir, the playable world of the Realm of the Dwarves of YGGDRASIL lies many mountain ranges, hills, plains, plateaus, caves, and so on. The playable world lacked much in the way of diversity compared to the other realms. Save for one particular area within the world, The Forest of Everclear. A dense jungle like area filled with vines, tall trees, and vegetation. Situated in a bottleneck area around two massive plateaus this particular area has an infamous reputation for being a PKing hot spot. The dense level of vegetation often made it hard for players to see no more than a couple of meters and very susceptible to sneak attacks.

Hence the situation now:

"Damn shitty devs!" When in doubt, blame the developers. It was always those shitty devs fault one way or another. A figure rushed across the marshy ground, kicking dirt as he sprinted past.

It was a heteromorphic player with a humanoid shape and structure but that was where it all ends. The skin of the creature was an unnatural deep red. From a glance, the skin looked leathery, as if patches of skin overlapped on another. It didn't stop there as all around the body were small deformed mouths with grimy yellow sharpened teeth. It covered the entire body, arms, legs, and all. The general head area possessed no less than six visible mouths. Strangely enough, there were no visible eye sockets. The creature possessed four separate arms, each wielding a different item. The purple and yellow spike armor only added to its monstrous appearance as it appears to almost like a second layer of tough skin.

 **Bellriver: Lvl – 88**

"[Greater Detect Presence]!" A twisted staff glowed in one hand as Bellriver activated his spell. [Greater Detect Presence] was a rather self-explanatory spell. It has its uses to detecting any possible enemies or intruders. A small screen popped up listing various mobs around the area but no player nametag.

"Damn it. They must have some anti-detection and anti-scrying spell active. I'm not dealing with amateurs it seems." The crimson heteromorph cursed. Pushing some foliage out of the way Bellriver caught a flash of light at the corner of his eyes.

"[Maximize Boost magic: Mana shield!]" Two meta magic enchantment powered his spell as a transparent blue dome of energy surrounded him. Not a second later a beam of pure energy slammed into the shield. The shield held against the attack and the one that followed it up. A barrage of armored claw fists struck the shield, slowly forming cracks around it. Bellriver was forced to jump back when out of the forest a humanoid player dressed in pink armor rushed him with a long-curved scimitar.

"[Graceful Arc]!" said the female using her skill.

"[Infused Strike]!" Bellriver countered with his own, his sword clashing against the scimitar. He reared his second arm back, which held a mace, to attack but was interrupted again.

This time it was player dressed in head to toe in black spiked armor wielding a two-handed battle ax. He attacked the heteromorph's unprotected back, taking a fair bit of HP. Bellriver disengaged, slowly backing up until he could no more. From the woodwork, three more players reveal themselves and stood beside the first two. The first was a lion demi-human in a mixture of fur and metal armor. The second was an armored hooded assassin. The final member was a player dressed in silver armor and held a combination of a lance and magic staff with a jewel near the tip.

"Finally stop running have you? Looks like we found a freak with some common sense." The ax wielder jeered

"Oh yes, you must feel so great of yourselves for ganging up on someone that was minding his own business." The multi-mouth heteromorph sarcastically quipped.

"Like we care for your opinion you walking tumor!" The demi-human sneered. This got a laugh from his companions.

"Tell you what, drop a good piece of equipment and we'll consider letting you go." The female sword fighter said.

Bellriver growled. One need not be psychic to know that they were lying through their teeth. This wasn't the first group of PKers he came across that used the same BS scam. They were trying to play him in order to get more out of this. He tightened his grip on his weapons. There was no way he would go down without a fight!

 _'I could sure use some help.'_ His thoughts briefly wandered to the rumors he read on the forums about a player saving heteromorphic players. He could certainly use that kind of help right now. Shaking his head he braced himself for the upcoming fight. The PKers seeing Bellriver not showing any indication of surrender prepared themselves.

"[Dimensional Slash]!" Before anyone could move a powerful voice called out. Five distinct slash marks appeared on the five PKers and their HP dropped to zero one by one. Each shattered and disappeared, five items landing on the ground in front of the confused magic knight.

"What?" was Bellriver's lame reply. He didn't think his prayers would have been actually answered.

"No need to fear!" A boisterous voice declared. Bellriver turned in time to see another figure appear before him.

A player dressed in beautiful pristine white and silver armor with an equally silver helm stared at the [gibbering mouther]. A large azure sapphire was embedded in the center of the armor. A red cape adorned his left shoulder pauldron that stretch to his backside. An impressive shield fitted in his left hand and sword with a golden cross-guard in his right hand. Simply by looking at the armor and weapons, one would think that the player was a human with the appearance of a powerful paladin. Underneath the armor was a different story as the player was a heteromorph just like Bellriver. More specifically an insectoid heteromorph.

 **Touch Me: Lvl – 100 [World Champion]**

 **"** For I am here!" The armor player finished and struck a dramatic pose with his legs spread out, shield at the ready, and his sword poised to strike. The red cape fluttering triumphantly despite no wind blowing on it. Strangely enough, it didn't stop there as the kanji for (Justice has Arrived!) appeared behind him. Too shock was Bellriver that he didn't even move, simply staring at the mysterious and eccentric savior.

"What?" Bellriver repeated.

"Hmm, strange. Why do people keep on saying that?" Touch me mumbled to himself. "Are you alright?" He asked, his once boisterous voice lowered to a reasonable level.

"Errr…Yes, I'm fine." Shaking away the confusion that was Touch Me's 'explosive arrival' Bellriver thanked the man. "I didn't think anyone would come."

"If someone is in trouble, its only natural to help them." The World Champion proclaimed, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right. For a second there I thought your perhaps the [Heteromorphic Savior] everyone been talking about." Bellriver knew now that wasn't the case. The rumors all stated that the [Heteromorphic Savior] was no front liner player like Touch Me was. Equipment, appearance, and overall demeanor was didn't match up with the white knight either.

"Hoh? [Heteromorphic Savior]? Who is this player that you speak of?" Touch Me asked, intrigued. The name alone gave him some hints.

Bellriver did just that, informing Touch Me of a mysterious humanoid player going around saving and helping heteromorphic players. As the story continued on the insectoid paladin opinion of the man only grew. When all was said and done, Bellriver sent a friend request to Touch me whom readily accepted. Saying one last goodbye Bellriver logged on out, leaving the World Champion to muse on his thoughts.

"It would seem that there's another hero of justice wandering the realms of YGGDRASIL. I would very much like to meet some day." He said. Touch Me swept his arm and set his crimson cape aflutter as he walked away.

* * *

 **Total Word Count: 9709**

 **Author's note:**

 **And that concludes the second chapter, or chapter 1 if you want to be technical. To be honest writing this chapter was a lot tougher than I originally thought. Thanks to so many supportive and wonderful reviews, I scrapped my original draft and reworked it into this. A good thing too as this one is much more pleasing to read.**

 **For those curious, I had initially design this chapter to be a straight narrative chapter, telling and explaining the world of YGGDRASIL to Shirou. I would have gone in depth on what has change with him, his new character stat sheet, and so on. Basically it would have been on HUGE info dump, and that is boring! Hence, I scrapped the idea but kept all the information to be later doled out in later chapters, as to also not make the chapters a big narrative dumpster fire. Like this one, where I explain how Unlimited Blade Works now work. If I'm being honest the chapter doesn't like the 'umph' compared to the last, at least in my opinion but I still enjoy writing it. Hopefully you do too.**

 **[Gibbering Mouther] : It's a monster typically found in D &D, of which the author of Overlord takes heavy inspirations from. You can google it for a better idea of what it looks like.**

 **My thoughts:**

 **1\. Unlimited Blade Works: Alright, this was perhaps the biggest challenge when it came to making it all connect. We all know how UBW works, and how stupidly OP such an ability is. Not counting the reality marble into the equation. Overlord has always been a story about OP characters and how they affect the world around them. Naturally, I combine the two themes and gave Shirou a big boost in power both in game and eventually the New World. I tried to make his ability make sense in a gaming environment. The idea for Shirou to now have the ability to scale his own projected weapons came to me as I came up with the idea to integrate it into YGGDRASIL's virtual gaming world. To me I kept on telling myself, was this fair? Or at least, as fair as it would be in YGGDRASIL while still retaining its OPness.**

 **I am curious, is it a good idea or bad one? My main focus was to improve Unlimited Blade Works while at the same time making it versatile and make it make sense in the gaming world.**

 **2\. The characters:** **Bukubukchagama and Peroroncino. One of the best thing a fanfic writer can hope for, is to have characters with less than detailed backstory. This generally allow me, and many other writers that I read to make up and write their backstory for said characters. Aside from key traits, we don't know much about Peroroncino or Bukubukchagama besides their character role, and general traits. Peroroncino as a massive perv and Bukubukchagama as the elder sister and voice actor.**

 **When it comes to this fic, I don't simply want this story to be like Hokage Naruto joining the cast of the RWBY universe and is forced to pretend to be a student and follow the canon event without ANY deviation. That, to me is boring. Not to point any fingers but the idea is that I don't want to a retelling of the story we all already knew about.**

 **Rather than making any radical change, like suddenly turning Momonga from an Undead Sorcerer to a Night elf assassin or something out of left field. I opted to take a more subtle and influential approach. Hence why I wrote the interaction of Peroroncino and Shirou like that. So through Shirou, Peroroncino is influence to become the powerful archer that he is in canon. This was in part for me to show Shirou leaving a visible impact on the canon lore of Overlord while not diverging from it too much.**

 **3\. Touch Me: Since Shirou saved Momonga earlier than canon, I decided to have Touch Me save another member of Ainz Ooal Gown instead. The players he killed were the same that almost killed Momonga in the original canon. I know many people, myself include that wish for the meeting of the two, and I originally had them meet originally in my third draft but scrapped it as I felt the chapter was going on too long and it was overloaded with content.**

 **4\. Character stat: Much like Unlimited Blade Works, I kept to the notion "Is this fair." His initial Ability Chart value are all base on his basic body. Meaning, what he do without any [Reinforcement], or his traced Noble Phantasm. I have the prefix of adaptable next to nearly all the stat to show that they can be increase depending on what Noble Phantasm he traces and uses. Again, my main concern was if it makes sense and fitted Shirou.**

 **I think I was fairly reasonable in assigning the stat values. If not, then do let me know so that I can change it. For reference I use the website below to help me get a better picture of how the characters stack up to one another.**

 **( r/overlord/comments/5fk5zd/overlord_character_stat_table/)**

 **Don't forget to leave a review concerning any thoughts or complaints. I read them all and they motivate me to write even faster.**

 **See you in the next chapter. (hint: The Fake Hero meets The Virtual Hero)**

 **Next Chapter: The Meeting of Heroes.**


	3. A meeting of Heroes

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or** **Overlord (** オーバーロード **). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and** **Overlord (** **オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **Wow, I knew that my idea for my story would garner some attention but NEVER did I think it would get this popular! Only two chapter in and we're already at 594 followers, 446 favorites, and over a 100 reviews! Holy smokes! Only been about a week and already we double in followers, favorites, and reviews. Thank you all sooooo much! I hope to continue entertaining you all.**

 **Also I do have a to make an important announcement. No, I'm not suddenly canceling the story. Since its December that means its nearing the end of the semester at my University. And you know what that means! Finals! (;-; someone send help!) It doesn't help that I got sick over Thanksgiving holiday. I'm not talking a slight sniffle but full on cold, fever, headache, stomach pain, and nausea all at once. Which didn't help as I still have a few more tests before my finals. Of which, I barely got any studying in because I felt like utter garbage.**

 **Anyway, enough about that. I gotten this chapter written much earlier but couldn't finish it up because my sickness and my studying. Thus it was delayed as well. On that note, the announcement I'm making is that the there won't be a new chapter next week similar to my weekly upload of these past chapters because of final weeks. More than likely it'll be 2 weeks before the next chapter comes out if not a little bit shorter.**

 **Second message: To Dante Evans. Apologies, but I finally saw your message on the my beta forum. For some odd reason I never got a notification for it. I would love would be more than happy to have you on board! It will be nice to have someone to bounce idea with back and forth. I've been trying to reach you through various pms throughout the week to try and get into talk with you but I never receive a reply. If you're seeing this, have you gotten any of my pms? Something strange I notice is that whenever I write a pm to someone, I never get a reply but when someone message me and I reply they get it. Perhaps a bug in the system? Try pming me first, I really do wish to have a nice discussion with you, especially with your comments on your reviews. If you send one I should be able to get back to you on that same day, I'm usually attentive about these type of things. If you don't hear anything from me in a day or two, then try emailing me at (pmrandom0000 g.m.a.i.l.c.o.m ) a spam email account I have. Hope to hear from you soon.**

 **Ohh, one more thing. I've also written a basic outline of the Prologue Arc as I'm calling this in my bio. Before committing to this I first wrote a general outline of how I wanted my Prologue Arc to go, and I think I finally finalize it. So for anyone curious as to know when I'll be taking my story to the New World, you can check it there to see possible future chapter title and speculate if you wish.**

 **Onto the reviews!**

 **To** **ANTAGONISTlC, Kyugan: Your question will be answered in this chapter, but then again I did make it rather obvious from the get-go. You are correct that the GUILD took on a more evil role playing theme. However, Ainz Ooal Gown hasn't come together yet in my story. Nines Own Goal on the other hand whom is lead by Touch Me on the other hand... Well, you get the idea.**

 **To Mercenary9814: Don't worry my friend, you be getting a sample of what's he's capable of in the next chapter. Read till the end to see what I mean. Enjoy!**

 **To Slaggedfire: Funny you should say that. Check out my bio for the possible future chapters.**

 **To RageTempest: Hmm, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait and see.**

 **To doubledamn: I do have an explanation, but I'm keeping that for the future chapter in which I'll be revealing it. If you're really curious, pm me and I can tell you.**

 **To KRKing: Sorry that I didn't out your review. So here it is in this chapter! The idea of a sister isn't that bad, and I can think up of a few comic scenes with the Pleiades maid, CZ included. I too had an idea involving the homonculus maid, namely the maid Fifth. I was thinking of having her be the little sister archetype that Shirou would project onto her while reminiscing of his homunculus step-sister, Illya. For** **Zesshi Zetsumei, she still quite far away seeing as we're still in Pre-YGGDRASIL days but I did entertain some ideas of including her into the story down the line. I'm afraid we're still far away so we both are going to have to wait and see. Hope that answer some of your question, and thank you for the support.**

 **To snowyassas1n: To be honest I really enjoy the Enri and Nfirea ship. I really do! It's something that we see from volume 2 and onward and I just think its so cute. Sorry, but that ship will be sailing.**

 **To MardShima: For the idea of Shirou's race, there were a few stories that changed him, some change him to be** **draconian, or homunculus, or as you suggested a doppleganger. At the beginning I wanted to keep Shirou's race Human for several reasons. The biggest would be show a contrast between him and the eventual Ainz Oown Gown and have something to keep him unique.**

 **To RyuujiVantek: Yes. Yes to which one, I'm afraid only I know that.**

 **To Wolfguy1991: While I won't be confirming or denying your question but I will have references from the different fate series time to time.**

 **Harem: So this idea and topic has been popping up a lot more recently whether it be in pms or reviews. And I can see why, especially with the character of Shirou.** **I'm not oppose to the idea, but rather the execution of it. We've all seen our fair share of horrible, and I mean horrible interpretation of harems. More often than naught they are simply power fantasy to see such and such character together. The number of times I've seen or read a story with a decent harem worked in is very few and far between. More often than naught they were comedy fics. I am willingly to try my hand at writing one if only for practice and experience but I don't wish for the story to degrade because of it. For now though, lets just put a pin on that to revisit.**

 **NPC creation: A lot of you guys are extremely curious about this one, and rightfully so. The answer to that is yes, he will have 'npc' but it probably won't be in the way your thinking. What am I saying? Afraid you're going have to wait and see.**

 **Edited: 2019**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - A meeting of Heroes**

Within the world of YGGDRASIL lies nine playable realms for the players to explore, fight in, and conquer. All modeled and named after the real-life Norse Mythology. Those worlds being;

Niðavellir: Niflheim, the world of fog, mist, and ice.

Múspellsheimr: Muspelheim, the land of fire. Home to the fable fire giants and inferno demons.

Miðgarðr: Midgard, the realm of humanity.

Jötunheimr: Jotunheim, the home of the giants.

Álfheimr: Alfheim, the birthplace of the elves.

Niðavellir: Nidavellir, the home of the dwarves.

Vanaheimr: Vanaheim, home to the Vanir Gods.

Ásgarðr: Asgard, home to the Aesir Gods.

And finally, Helheim or Hel, the realm of the dishonorable dead.

Each separate world was beyond massive, with an approximate estimation of 6,800 total kilometer square in size. Combined, the nine different worlds covered roughly 59,130 kilometer squares. An insanely large overworld especially when they consider that there's no fast traveling viable within the game. Save for players teleporting from one starting town to another in order to access a specific area within the world.

Starting towns for players are located near the center of the world and everything else is spread all around. The various location and areas within the world gradually become tougher as one moves farther away from the center. Enemies rise in level, the environment can change to become disadvantageous if a player isn't properly prepared and it always comes with the threat of death resulting in players possibly losing a piece of value equipment. There were some safe areas or locations that served as a brief safe zone but nothing more.

These restrictions were nearly doubled for those that choose to play as Heteromorphic characters. Technically all nine playable worlds are open up to the players be they humanoid, demi-human, or heteromorph but depending on what a player character may be it can limit where they can go. For example an undead heteromorphic player is incapable of walking into any populated town within Midgard. They would need to choose a spawn point far removed from the area.

Demi-human faces some of these restrictions but not to the level of heteromorphs. Humanoid players, such as humans, elves, and dwarfs don't have such restrictions. Another reason why humanoid players were by far the most common. They were not hindered by the YGGDRASIL worlds.

 **November 8th, 2130. World: Niflheim. The Shores of Ice. Recommended level: 50-55**

Within the Niflheim the virtual sun shone bright this day, a cloudless sky spanning far and wide. The sun shone brightly, illuminating all under its ray. On a certain set of grassy fields, a dense and visible mist permeated the plains, shrouding the quiet and quant field. What little bit of sunlight that broke through the fog glistened off the droplet of waters. Dew decorated the untouched blades of grass, their form wavering as a gust of wind blew by. No mobs or POP occupied the grassland, leaving all sanguine.

"Don't lose him!" From the mist, several beams of light shot out in random directions but hit nothing. Jumping out of the fog moments later was Shirou, his trusted black bow in hand.

With a leap, he traced three arrows and notched them back. Reaching the max height of his jump he released them into back into the fog, their tips infused with mana. The three detonated a second later, the explosion blowing away the fog to reveal a group of five players. Descending one of his pursuers rushed at him.

"Hold still! [Consecutive Spiral Thrust]!" The players roared and brought up a thick silver cavalry lance with asymmetrical design. Shirou eyes landed on the weapon and immediately categories the weapon and stored a copy of it within his Unlimited Blade Works. The tip of the weapon glowed, and the player thrusted forward. YGGDRASIL system recognized the activation of a skill and the body running on autopilot sought to complete the action.

[Consecutive Spiral Thrust]. A skill exclusive to players that uses pole arm type weapons. Four spectral like arms wielding the same lance struck with the original. Five near simultaneous attacks aimed for Shirou's head. Had it been another player they would have needed to block it or take the hit. He did neither as with extreme nimbleness he moved his head allowing each strike to miss. Stunned by such an outlandish feat the lance wielder was kicked back by Shirou.

Without even looking back he continued sprinting across the field.

"How the hell is he doing that?!" cried a player dressed in black bushido armor and armed with a flaming katana.

"Who cares?! Don't let him get away!" Another screamed, this one female and dressed in dark green robes with a symbol of a tree branded on it.

The party of five continued giving chase to Shirou. While speeding through the misty plains Shirou couldn't help but reminisced about what exactly lead up to this.

Roughly six months have passed since Zelretch intervention. During those six months Shirou continued to learn and explore the world of YGGDRASI and continued his patrol. Helping out new players here and there while also protecting heteromorphic players from the more malicious players. With the knowledge of the YGGDRASIL's forums reveal to him it was only a matter of time before players would actively hunt him down. It wasn't all that different back on earth when he would have the occasional magus coming after him in pursuit whether it be for revenge, fame, fortune, or some other asinine reason. Shirou figured he had maybe another two or so months before it would occur, factoring in how big the overworld was and how often Shirou jump between worlds since he didn't need any sleep.

Shirou seriously underestimated just how influential and widespread the YGGDRASIL forums were. The attacks started at the end of the second month since his arrival. At first, it was the odd player here or there. Usually no more than one or two player every week or so. As time went on and as Shirou continued his role of protecting heteromorphic players from PK parties the number only grew. The number of players increased from one or two to roughly four or even six at times. A ten-member party was the highest he faced to date. What was once a weekly occurrence of players attacking Shirou became a daily occurrence.

In the beginning, he opted to run away and evade these attempts on his life. It was Shirou's belief that if they couldn't succeed then eventually they would give up, sadly that wasn't the case. This only seemed to embroil them, and they tried harder. He knew that he couldn't run away forever so he began fighting back. This had the opposite effect of what he wanted as this fueled the rumor mill around him even further.

Stories and complaints revolving around the fake hero continue to circulate and build up. The stories became twisted and even more outlandish as it passed from one player to another. By the end of the third month, a sort of virtual bounty spread amongst the player base regarding the player simply known as EMIYA.

Some hunted him for revenge, others for the chance at his powerful loot, and a few did for the thrill of it and to take down the so-called invincible [Heteromorphic Savior].

Hence the situation at hand.

The party of five was the latest entry. Consisting of a light armor human with a lance as his weapon, a halfling samurai in black with a flaming katana, a female human druid, an elf dressed in white robes with glowing runes circulating on his robes, and finally a female human player dressed in a school girl's uniform holding a crystal ball.

The party of five chased the archer to the end of the area. With a leap Shirou's form disappeared, prompting the group to increase their speed. The misty surrounding covered their vision before receded as they entered a new area. A massive lake lied in front of them with its shore connecting the two areas. A quick survey showed Shirou was on the shore, his back facing the lake. The PKers smiled. Finally! The goose chase came to an end. There was no way for him to escape them now with a lake cutting his escape route.

Rushing to the shore the group forgot themselves in their excitement, which played exactly into Shirou's hand.

"[Delay Triplet magic: Explosive Land mines]!" The five players were too late to react as the spell circle appeared. From the sandy shores, balls of condensed fire launched upwards, surrounding the five players and exploded. The explosion rocked the area taking a significant chunk of all their HP in the process. That wasn't the end as arrows of light rained down on them, forcing the players to split up less they became a pin cushion.

"Fuck! We're getting ambushed!"

"No shit! Focus, we can do this! [Create High Tier Guardian: Colossus]!" Screamed the player in the school uniform. She raised the orb into the air, the crystal ball acting as a catalyst to channel her spell. A magic circle appeared in front of her but before her summon could be summoned another spell intercepted it.

"[Greater Rejection]!" Cracks spread across the magic circle and destroyed it, rejecting the summoning.

"Damn it all! Where the hell is the magic caster!" Cried the rune mage. All he could see was his party members and Shirou.

Separated, the two-vanguard class player chose to attack Shirou directly seeing him still wide open. From the water popped up a pinkish elder slime who gotten in between Shirou and the two players.

"[Ebony Skin], [Elasticity]!" The slime's pink skin changed to a dark hue. With [Elasticity] it allows the player to manipulate their body, stretching and twisting how they want. The slime's body expanded forming a protective wall in front of Shirou. The two attacks struck the living wall and bounced off with Bukubukchagama HP dropping only a little bit.

During this Shirou silently dismissed his bow and projected Kanshou and Bakuya in his hand.

"Thank you, Bukubukchagama-san!"

"You're welcome~!" The slime happily replied.

Dashing from the make-shift shield he attacked the samurai. Bukubukchagama continued her role as the tank and kept the lancer at bay. While this was happening the remaining three players were facing their own troubles in the form of an invisible magic caster and long-range archer. The volley of light arrows preventing them from a moment of respite.

"We're getting pounded! We need to find a way to that magic caster, he can't be that far away!"

"I would but I can't channel my spells seeing as we're playing hopscotch!" The elven rune mage angrily spoke.

"Leave that to me! [Vineguard]!" The druid raised both of her hands and from the sleeves of the robes grew thick green vines wrapped around themselves, forming a shield. This provided the rune mage enough time to use his spell.

"[Boost magic: All-seeing Arcane Vision]!" From the rune mage point of view, everything suddenly turned blue. The ninth tier spell adds a filter to the player's sight, allowing them to see through any possible invisibility or camouflage be they skill or magic. He came upon it, a player with a transparent rippling effect was standing just a few meters from where they were.

"He's invisible! Right there!" The mage pointed to the general direction.

"Finally!" The crystal ball user exclaimed. "Eat this! [Boost magic: Wild Thunder]!"

"[Chaos Orb]!" The invisible caster countered.

The two spells clashed, one a blast of pure electrical energy and the other of condensed darkness. The resulting explosion kicked up dirt and sand from the surrounding, blinding and deafened the group for a moment. Of which Momonga happily use to relocate as they were none the wiser.

"[Fly], [Greater Teleportation]."

"Did we get him?"

"…No. Damn, he must have moved!"

"Well find him! I don't think my—" The druid never got to finish as a more powerful charged arrow of light smash into the vines and destroyed the barrier. This allowed a series of rapid-fire arrows to hit the three players. With their HP in the lower yellow, it was time to finish it.

"[Maximize Triplet magic: Dark Rend]!"

Three massive spell circle appeared, overlapping one another and above the three PKers. With the maximize and triplet meta magic boosting the already impressive 8th tier spell it was enough to bring all three players HP down to zero. The spell was unleashed, enveloping them in a spire of pure dark energy. Their bodies shattered dropping piles of gold coins and a single piece of their equipment.

Back with Shirou and Bukubukchagama, he swiftly put an end to his fight by maneuvering himself within the samurai's guard and decapitated him with Kanshou. The samurai felt a sense of vertigo take over as his virtual head still registered the sight of his headless body facing him. His head and body breaking into tiny pieces a second later. Seeing the brutal finisher of his remaining party member lancer stop attacking Bukubukchagama and tried to flee. Tried by the key word.

Another supercharged arrow of light flew through the air and slammed onto the fleeing player defenseless back. His HP hit zero and he quickly joined his companions.

"We did it~!" Bukubukchagama cheered, her form bobbing up and down in what Shirou assumed was her jumping.

"Indeed." Shirou said. "Good work to you as well Momonga-san, Peroroncino-san."

Without any fanfare Momonga appeared next to the pair, canceling his invisibly spell. Peroroncino meanwhile circled around before performing nose dive to joined everyone.

"And to you as well EMIYA-san, Bukubukchagama-san."

"That was awesome! We were like bam! And Boom! And you were like Shnnk! And they were like Kaaa! They never stood a chance!" Peroroncino excitedly narrates with many onomatopoeias and hand motions. "How did I do EMIYA-sempai?"

"You did great. All those months of training are finally paying off. It would seem you've found your perfect calling as an archer."

"Yosh!" The avian player fist bumped the air.

Settling down they collected the loot and discussed who was getting what. The gold was evenly split amongst them leaving the dropped equipment untouched. From the samurai that Shirou defeated he dropped a Legendary class item in the form of a necklace that boosted health regen. The lancer dropped his Divine class lance. For the druid, a single potion was dropped and for the rune mage a Legendary class metal gauntlet that increases a magic caster spell strength. Lastly, the item belonging to the orb user was a pair of boots that increased players' total Mana Points.

In the end, Bukubukchagama received the necklace, Momonga took the boots and gauntlets, Peroroncino the potion, and Shirou was left with the lance. He tried arguing with them saying it was pointless as he could simply trace a copy it, but he didn't let them know that. However, they would have none of it and pushed it onto him which he reluctantly agreed to.

Shirou wanted to argue but let it pass. His Unlimited Blade Works made the weapon in his hand rather useless as he could trace any number of copies if he wanted to. Typically, he would just break it down whatever weapon he earned, whether it be low or common to Legendary or Divine for their data crystals and materials.

Many players would weep should they ever learn of Shirou's casual dismissal of such high tier items, especially ones that they themselves spent countless hours and possibly money on to max it out.

Oh well, that what they get for constantly trying to PK Shirou.

"Thank you again for helping me. The constant PK attempts on me were getting a bit tiring." Shirou said.

"It's of no issue EMIYA-san. Especially after everything you've done for us and for those that play Heteromorphs out there." Momonga replied.

"Yea! We kicked ass and took names. Those PKers better watch out, for now, there's a bigger fish in the sea!" Peroroncino chimed in.

"Hypocrites, the lot of them. They don't bat an eye for those killing heteromorphs but as soon as you showed up, everyone beginning making you out as the bad guy." An angry emoticon appeared above the pink slime, mirroring her disproval.

"You can blame the shitty devs Bukubukchagama. They've always had it out for heteromorphs from the very beginning." The undead skeleton sighed. "At least with EMIYA-san PKers are now hesitant knowing they might face the wrath of the [Heteromorphic Savior]."

"Ughhh." Shirou groaned. "I'm not getting rid of that name any time soon am I?"

"Nope!" was Peroroncino humorful reply, popping the 'p' at the end of his word. The others joined in for a quick laugh.

"Are you three perhaps busy for the rest of the day by any chance?" Shirou suddenly asked.

A quick looked at the time showed 13:34:56 or 1:34 pm standard time.

"Hmm, my company called in yesterday telling me that work for the entire week was canceled due to some sort of emergency. So yes I'm free." Momonga answered.

"I had my rehearsal this morning so I'm free throughout the day." Bukubukchagama said.

"Well… I should be getting the latest copy of **Sex and Steal 5** – The revenge of tentacle soon so I—"

Bukubukchagama quickly smacks the backside of her perverted brother's head in order to shut him up. "What he means to say… is that we're available. **Right**?" The elder sister emphasized and despite no visible eyes, Shirou could feel her glaring at her little brother.

"Yeah…right." Peroroncino reluctantly agreed. "Something on your mind? Oh! Are we going to on some more PK hunting?"

"Not exactly. A friend I rescued a few weeks ago contacted me this morning. Apparently, he found a hidden area and invited me to join him and his clan." Shirou revealed. Hearing this all three heteromorphic players perked up. With such a large overworld there were bound to be secret areas and location within the map. And these areas always guarantee great loot for anyone that first discovers and conquers it.

"And you wish for us to join you EMIYA-san? I am grateful, but will your friend approve of us joining you?" Momonga couldn't help but ask. No one gave out important information like an undiscovered area for free.

"That's what I'm going to figure out right now." Shirou paused. For a few minutes he said nothing, but it was clear to them that he was using [message]. "I ran by him and he has no problem with you joining me." He finally answered.

"Sweet! I can't wait to see this." Peroroncino exclaimed.

"Where we will be heading to EMIYA-san?

"Vanaheim. We'll be meeting my friend, Amanomahitotsu-san, at Vanaheim."

* * *

Vanaheim, the realm that served as the home for the Vanir within Norse Mythology. Popular depiction of the world consists of a tranquil and serene landscape. The overworld of Vanaheim was perhaps the most diverse of all the nine playable realms. Consisting of everything from mountain ranges, plateaus, marshlands, bountiful ocean and beaches, an arid desert, a lavish rainforest, underground cave system and so much more. Out of the nine different playable worlds, Vanaheim has the least exploration percentage completion to date.

Not too far from the starting towns of the world lies a ruin. The surrounding bore a resemblance to Stonehenge back on earth with its pillars of stone arranged in a circular fashion. Here, Momonga, Peroroncino, and Bukubukchagama stood, waiting for Shirou to returned to them. He had, at the request of his friend, traveled to the town in order to pick up some equipment for the trip. As heteromorphic players, they were forbidden from entering leaving only Shirou to complete the task.

"[Life-Detection Boundary], [Anti-Scrying Protection], [Range Defense Cocoon], [Protection against Assassination]."

A series of magic circles formed and activated. The surrounding area glowed with a different color for each spell before returning back to normal.

"There, now we don't need to worry about any possible ambushes." Commented Momonga.

"A bit over the top don't you think Momonga-san? Sure, we're close to the towns but there's nothing in our direction, so I doubt we'll have players spotting us." Peroroncino said. He sat on top of one of the stone pillars, lazily kicking his leg to and fro.

"It's not paranoia if you know it'll come true Peroroncino-san." The robed skeleton rebutted. Roughly 80% of all of his ventures with EMIYA-san ends with PKers attacking. This made him learning spells to ensure they don't get ambush by a bored party. "Better safe than sorry I would say."

"Whatever." The aerial sniper shrugged. "Man, EMIYA-sempai does get around doesn't he? His friend's list has at least a thousand players that he must have saved or something crazy like that."

"Agreed. He doesn't do things halfway that's for sure." Praised the female slime.

"I do have to wonder where he has the time for all of this? Maybe he's a NEET or a Hikikomori? Would explain how he has time to go around saving players."

"Otouto! How can you say that about EMIYA-san?!" An angry emoticon popping up over the pink's slime head.

One even popped up for Momonga showing that he too didn't take too kindly to Peroroncino's comment.

"I'm not saying he is one nee-chan!" The avian player panicky replied. An equally panicked emoticon popping up. "I'm grateful for everything EMIYA-sempai did for us. Really! I was just curious is all. You do have the admit nee-chan that he always seems to be online, no matter what time it is. He plays this game a lot, even more than me and that's saying something!"

Simmering down Momonga did find there was some truth to Peroroncino's words. In-game there was a mechanic that records and tally players total playtime and offline time. A player can check their friend's list to see if any of their friends were recently online and for how long. Whenever Momonga would log in EMIYA would always send a brief hello after a few minutes. Curious, Momonga noted that it never did state when was the last time EMIYA signed off the game. This does give Peroroncino theory some more backing.

It was true that neither Momonga nor the siblings knew much about EMIYA and they were fine with that. They came to YGGDRASIL to play a game and to lose themselves within the beautiful world. To make them momentarily forget about their real life and enjoy their virtual one.

 _'Does it really matter if EMIYA-san is a shut-in?'_ He thought.

The answer was an immediate no.

Ever since Momonga met Shirou, or EMIYA as he was known to Momonga, on that fateful day he has not regretted it since. The man was always kind and respectful, always there to lend a helping hand no matter what and never asked for anything. The undead skeleton was confident that had Shirou not shown up to save him that day he would have quit YGGDRASIL all together. The list for everything Shirou had done for them was easily a kilometer or so long. Everything from power leveling them up, protecting them from PKers, offering up valuable items and equipment they find, giving out thousands of gold coins if they were running dry, smiting and enhancing their current weapons and equipment, and so much more.

Momomga would never look down on EMIYA whether or not he indeed was a shut-in, not after all the good he did for him and so many others. The salaryman didn't think he would be able to look himself in the mirror if let a bias like that to affect the outlook on the player that has already done so much. The man was a shining light illuminating a dark tunnel that was Momonga once bleak life.

"Maybe. Or maybe he's an ultrarich or something?" Bukubukchagama threw out there. "Maybe he's well off that he doesn't need to work."

"That would be the life, wouldn't it? To not worry about a single thing and play YGGDRASIL all day. Tch, lucky bastard." Peroroncino snarked but there no real bite to his words, only humor.

"Whether the case may be we shouldn't jump to conclusions without any hard evidences." Momonga added. With that closing remark, all conversation died down.

Notifications immediately flooded Momonga's vision, all warnings from his previous active wards.

"Oh no. We have attacks incoming!"

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, several magic base attacks hit Momonga's barriers but luckily it held strong. Peroroncino and Bukubukchagama sprung to their feet and ready themselves.

"Shit! Of all times…" Peroroncino cursed. "How many are we dealing with Momonga-san?"

"…By the looks of it, around eight."

"I just [Message] EMIYA-san, he's on his way back. He'll be here in about two minutes!" Bukubukchagama reported in.

 _'I don't think we have that long.'_ Momonga silently lamented.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A fourth voice made itself known. The three heteromorphs turned around to see a large party of players casually strolling towards them.

Momonga grimaced. They were all level 100 just like them and a full party to boot. Two magic casters, a single tank, two front liners, and a cleric. The group had two members unaccounted for but Momonga could only assume for them to be either long-range support like an archer or sniper and perhaps a rogue or assassin. A balanced party that would easily destroy the three of them seeing as they lacked a vanguard in the form of Shirou.

"What are a couple freaks like yourselves doing here?" The player at the front of the group asked.

"None of your business jackass!" Bukubukchagama ever so elegantly replied. An emoticon with its tongue sticking out appeared.

"We don't wish for any trouble. We're simply waiting for our friend." Momonga tried to defuse. A plan was rapidly forming in his head. If they could just stall for a minute or so then they'll have EMIYA here but even then it'll be a difficult fight against a full party like theirs.

"I'm sorry but I missed the part where I should give a flying fuck." The player snarked. And with that negotiation broke down. Tensing the group ready themselves.

"Not so fast evildoers! You will not be harming these innocent souls this day!" A loud and boisterous voice declared. Appearing before them from above was a player donned in brilliant silver armor with a sword and shield at his side.

It wasn't the man's entrance that gave everyone a pause but rather his nametag.

 **Touch me: Lvl – 100 [World Champion]**

Before anyone could process what just happen another voice could be heard.

"Damn it Touch me! We could have gotten them by surprise, but you had to ruin it!" A loud voice chastised.

Momonga turned towards the new voice. Standing on top of one of the stone pillars was another player, a clear heteromorph if he ever saw one. The heteromorph appeared to be a humanoid gray goat with hooves for feet and a pair of wickedly curved golden horns on the crown of his head. His fingers were more like sharpened talons that gleamed in the light. He was dressed in what appeared to be a combination of a black suit and black robes with a velvet cape attached to the backside. Golden coloured trinkets and accessories decorated the vest of his suit. A crimson rose was stitched onto his left shoulder. To top it all off a black top hat lies on top his head with a gold stopwatch visible for all to see attached to it and a crimson veil like cloth covering part of his goat face with an elaborate golden mask covering the right side of his face.

 **Ulbert Alain Odle: Lvl – 100**

"What's done is done Ulbert-san, no point in crying over spilled milk." A calmer voice assuaged.

Jumping down to join Touch me was another heteromorph player. If Momonga were to pick a word to describe him it would have been eldritch. The player had a humanoid appearance with a head that resembled a deformed squid. A total of six long tentacles sprouted from what he could only presume to be his mouth reached down to his thighs. A metal headpiece covered his head and eyes, two being cloudy and pupil-less and another being bluish white. His attire was rather simple, consisting of a black leather outfit that covers his legs and his arms, leaving his torso bare. Several black belts wrapped around his body with an equally black cape attach his back. The player's skin was an inhumane white hue, resembling a corpse with blotches of purple amidst the pale skin. His hands had only four fingers, but they were unnaturally long with webbing between the digits.

 **Tabula Smaragdina: Lvl – 100**

Where did they come from? Momonga didn't have a single clue but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Nevertheless!" Touch Me took charge of the situation. "We shall not allow you to do as you please! If you wish to continue on this path of villainy, you'll have to deal with the six of us!"

"Seven." A familiar voice corrected. Hearing his voice Momonga mentally sighed in relief. A quick glance showed that it was indeed Shirou who stood on a stone pillar away from both groups but just close enough, armed with his black bow and an arrow already notched back.

"You're… him. The [Heteromorphic Savior]." The enemy party took a collective step back after learning who Shirou was.

Momonga quickly stepped up to take advantage of their momentary relapse. "What will it be? Can you stand up to both the combine might of a [World Champion] and the [Heteromorphic Savior]?" said Momonga projecting a false image of bravado.

Both sides were tense and at any second all hell could break loose. Everyone kept an eye on their respective opponents. Both sides were waiting, to see who would make the first move. In the end, they choose the sensible option.

"Back it up guys, this fight ain't worth it." The leader decided. Slowly and carefully the party of eight backed off but never did they turn their backs to the other players. There was no telling if they might and try a quick sneak attack. It took a whole minute before they were all gone. The six heteromorphs and one human didn't lower their weapons or guard just yet.

"Are they gone EMIYA-san?" Momonga asked.

"…yes. They're running from here. They won't be coming back any time soon."

Hearing this the tension slowly drained away. Shirou jumped down and joined his friends.

"Man, I thought we were goners for a second there." Peroroncino sigh in relief.

"I finally have the pleasure of meeting you [Heteromorphic Savior], or may I call you EMIYA-san?" Touch Me made a beeline towards EMIYA, ignoring the rest for the moment. "It's an honor to meet a fellow ally of justice here within YGGDRASIL." He held out in his hand.

"You give me too much credit. I'm only doing what is right, after all, it's only common sense—

— to help those in need." The two players finished simultaneously. A short pause took place as the two stared back at one another.

"…I think you and I are going to be great friends." said Shirou taking Touch Me's hand.

"I concur."

The two shook hands rather vigorously. Momonga got a distinct impression that his crimson dressed friend was extremely happy.

"Oh, great they're multiplying." Ulbert bemoaned.

"You say that as if that's a bad thing Ulbert-san." Tabula said.

Casually walking forward, the two heteromorphs joined up with Touch Me. The silver paladin released the handshake and addressed Momonga and the rest.

"Ah, where are my manners. I am Touch Me, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Touch Me happily greeted with a bow.

"I don't see why we have to introduce ourselves but, very well. You have the pleasure of meeting I, Ulbert Alain Odle, The Great Demon Arch-Sage!" Ulbert dramatically introduced himself, posing with one arm tucked in front of his stomach and the other outstretched.

"I am Tabula Smaragdina, hello." Compared to the other two the brain-eater's introduction was rather tame.

Momonga and the rest joined in and introduced themselves.

"Oi, oi, come on Touch Me hurry it up. We helped them out already so let's get a move on. We're already late, let's not keep Amanomahitotsu-san waiting any longer!" Ulbert urged.

"…I'm sorry but did you say Amanomahitotsu-san?" Shirou suddenly asked. All heads towards him.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Heteromorphic player, looks like a humanoid crab with four arms, with one of the arms being a massive claw?"

"I-I… How did you…" Ulbert was caught flat-footed by Shirou's accurate description of their friend.

"We too were on our way to meet him…" Shirou explained.

Both sides went silent as they stared at one another for a moment. Ten minutes later the group of seven were traveling together, light conversation exchanged between them as the group traveled to where they were supposed to go. They finally reached the rendezvous point, a small hill that overlooked a mountain range.

There, two players stood waiting, both heteromorphs. The first was the strangest amongst them, being a humanoid crab-like creature. The player was mainly covered in an orangish-yellow coloured shell. Small bumps and spikes adorned the surface the shell adding to its unusual appearance. In addition to two regular hands, it possesses one claw the same size as its human hands and another giant crab claw. The face was covered with a red turban cloth that covered much of his face save for his eyes which were protected by googles. He was no warrior if the smithing attire was anything to go by with various pockets snitched on.

 **Amanomahitotsu: Lvl - 95**

The second player was covered head to toe bright high collar yellow overcoat with several yellow mantles stacked on top of it all. Like Ulbert the player wore a stylish top hat with a frontal design resembling a cross. The high collar and hat made it hard to see what the player's true appearance was. A black piece of clothing was tied to her waist, running all the way down to her kneecaps. Two coattails could be made out and attach to them with a metal cross like accessory similar to the design of the one on her top hat. The most interesting about her appearance came in the form of two pinkish-black gauntlets, easily three times the size of her head that he had equipped.

 **Yamaiko: Lvl - 100**

The moment Shirou laid his eyes on it Unlimited Blade Work copied and categories it within his reality marble. [Female Sensei's Iron Fist of Wrath – Divine Tier gauntlets]

"Touch Me-san! There you are, we were starting to get worried and— EMIYA-san?!" Amanomahitotsu exclaimed upon seeing his clanmates with his friend together.

A quick explanation was given to both of them to catch them up to speed.

"Wow, that's quite the coincidence." Yamaiko whistled. "What were the odds of something like that happening?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps its Fate's hand at work. Moving us like chess pieces on a board, stripping us of a true free will. A pawn to the power that is." Ulbert mused out loud.

This earned looks from Shirou's group whom were still learning of Ulbert's rather chunni style of speaking. A glance towards Touch Me's group showed them all shrugging and promptly ignoring that strange bit from the goat heteromorph.

"By the sound of it, you planned them for both Touch Me-san and EMIYA-san to meet each other later rather than sooner. Ain't that right?" Amanomahitotsu chuckled demurely and scratched the back of his head, or rather the top of his shell, in embarrassment.

"I actually wanted to surprise you Touch Me-san. I've meet EMIYA-san a while back when he saved me, and I knew you wanted to him, so I decided to invite both of you so that you could meet. Especially with your similar personalities."

"That was very generous of you Amanomahitotsu-san. Though, I believe the surprise was ruined." Touch Me chuckled, giving the crustacean player a pat on the back/shell.

"Now that we're all here I was actually thinking of extending EMIYA-san and his friends an invite to the clan." The World Champion admitted.

This wasn't the first time that Shirou received an invitation to a clan or guild. He received plenty of it from heteromorphic players that he saved on a regular basis. He respectfully rejected them all, mostly out of obligation as tying himself down wouldn't work. While there was some genuine care given, most were handed out for the sole purpose of recruiting someone a powerful as him to their side. It certainly wouldn't the first time someone sought him for his strength. Be it here or back on Earth, this made his hesitant to commit to any group that he just first met.

Having gotten to talk with the [World Champion] and learn about his reasoning for why he too tries and saves heteromorphic players Shirou was more inclined to take the man's offer. A quick looked showed Peroroncino excitedly talking with his sister and Momonga seemed interested. Amanomahitotsu was all too happy to agree while Tabula and Yamiko didn't show any sign of objecting.

There was one however that wasn't happy with Touch Me's declaration.

"Hold up, what happened to the 'only being a clan for heteromorph' stick we were going for? Does that defeat the purpose if he allows a human player in?" Ulbert rudely remarked. The happy atmosphere dimming a bit.

"Have I offended you in some way Ulbert-san?" Shirou politely questioned.

"Don't flatter yourself." The goat demon swiftly dismissed. "I'm questioning Touch Me's flippant use of his authority."

"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Momonga suggested diplomatically.

"A vote that's heavily skewed favor in his favor." Was Ulbert's biting retort. "Amanomahitotsu will agree as they are friends. Yamaiko and Tabula don't give two shit, and the rest are from EMIYA's group that will want him in the clan. Eight-to-one, hardly a fair vote." The goat demon snorted.

"I fail to see why this has gotten you so riled up Ulbert-san." Touch Me admitted.

"Hmph." The Arch-Sage snorted. "If you're going make such a proclamation, make sure you can actually keep it. Else you'll just look like a big liar **Hero**."

"Ulbert-san!" Touch Me growled.

"Enough you two!" Before a fight could break out the eldritch abomination stepped in. "Ulbert-san." Tabula addressed the man directly. "Do you personally have anything against EMIYA-san."

"Well, no…"

"Let us not forget why Nines Own Goal was created in the first place and why we all joined. To aid those like us that persecuted unfairly and unjustly. Given EMIYA-san track record he has proven which camp he has chosen. While you may not like it Touch Me-san is indeed the leader of the clan and it is his decision and right to invite anyone he wishes. You, and by extension all of us, have no right to deny him entry especially when EMIYA-san has done nothing to harm either us the clan members or the clan as a whole."

"Hmph, fine." The goat demon huffed and turned away.

"If I'm causing too much trouble and strife between your clanmates, maybe I shouldn't join. Not if it'll create ripples like that. I'm perfectly fine with staying a friend of you all." Shirou interjected.

"It's fine. It is not that uncommon for Ulbert-san and Touch Me-san to butt heads when comes to certain things. Give it a day or two and it'll be water under the bridge." The brain eater assuages him. "Here."

 **||||||||Tabula Smaragdina has sent you a clan invite. Do you wish to join "Nines Own Goal"? [Yes/No]||||||||**

Shirou was reluctant to join after seeing the argument that it leads to but coxing from Momonga and Peroroncino made him give in. Hitting the yes option, a small window popped up congratulating him. A list of available players within the guild was automatically added to his friend's list.

With that out of the way the group converged one more, this time Touch Me and Ulbert putting their differences aside for the moment.

"So Amanomahitotsu-san, what was it this secret location that you spoke of?" Touch Me said.

"Yes, of course. It was around last week when EMIYA-san accompanied me to an area called [The Stony Peaks]. We ran into a PK party and EMIYA told me to run and hide. I ran into a cave that I didn't give much thought about until much later."

"How do we know it's truly a secret area if its plainly in the open?" Ulbert pointed out.

"Because when I came back there with Nishikienrai-san, Takemikazuchi-san, and Bellriver-san the entrance was gone, as if it wasn't there in the first place." The crab heteromorph answered.

"Oh? That would mean this cave requires a condition to be met for it to open again." Said Momonga stroking his bony chin.

"If that's the case then what's the thing that triggers the appearance of the entrance? It isn't the number of players by the looks of it." Yamaiko noted.

The group paused as they digested the information to try and see what connection there was that triggered the appearance of the secret area."

"Blacksmith." The answer came to Shirou. All heads turned towards him, waiting to hear his explanation. "If number isn't the deciding factor then it would have to be something he and I have in common." He revealed. "Amanomahitotsu-san, you have a job classification as a blacksmith but, so do I."

"A blacksmith? A bit of a stretch don't you think EMIYA-sempai?" Peroroncino questioned clearly not buying it.

"No, that's not entirely wrong." Amanomahitotsu defend. "The flavor text of [The Stony Peaks] spoke of it being an area rich with minerals and ores unseen even within the other nine worlds. This wouldn't be the first time the devs made an area accessible only through a certain number of specific job classes."

"Whatever the case may be it revealed itself when both you and EMIYA-san were present. It should do so again if that's the case." Tabula commented.

Next came the all-important issue of party managing. With a party of nine, it was decided to split into a 3 by 3 by 3 formation. The first group consisted of Touch Me, Bukubukchagama, and Shirou as the vanguard of the party. The second group was made up of Peroroncino, Yamiko, and Amanomahitotsu. Lastly, the backline consisted of Ulbert, Tabula, and Momonga. This set up allows for the party to minimize causalities and maximize effectiveness. With their DPS mages at the back and Momonga being a useful utility mage as well. Yamiko can also serve as a frontline if need be and can switch with anyone while Shirou doubled as the vanguard and an archer if the situation calls for it. Amanomahitotsu will be in the middle to provide any needed enchantments should it needs be and direction.

"Momonga-san, do happen to know [Mass Fly] by any chance?" Amanomahitotsu asked the undead.

"Yes, I do. Why?"

"Good. Then it'll make getting there easier."

[Mass Fly] allows the caster to select up to five players, including the caster to fly. Tabula and Momonga cast the spell on the group and they were on their way with Amanomahitotsu guiding the group. With the power of flight, they managed to skip the annoying trek and any mobs that would have attacked him. There were the occasional flying enemies but Shirou and Peroroncino easily took care of them. Ten minutes later they reached their destination. On the mountainside of [The Stony Peak.]. Snow dotted the area, colouring the landscape and world in a pristine white.

"Right there." He pointed with his oversized claw. A wall of stone, a part of the rocky mountain. On first viewing, it looked like any nondescript background that one would easily ignore. As they got closer, like a mirage it wobbled and faded away to reveal an entrance.

Landing, the group braced themselves for any possible enemies or mobs. The vanguard walked in first and slowly everyone else funneled it. Inside at the far end was a passageway with a staircase that leads downwards. One by one they descended lower and lower into the cavern. Torches along the walls illuminated their descent downwards until they reached an exit. Signaling to Bukubukchagama and Shirou, Touch Me received a nod from both of them. They were ready.

As one the three dashed forward, weapons at the ready. Shirou's eye scanned the area looking for any possible movement or life. Five second passes before he relaxed his stance.

"I do not see anything." Shirou reported.

"Neither to do I." Touch Me answered.

"All clear on my side." Bukubukchagama confirmed.

Giving the all clear signal the rest of the party funneled in. Allowing himself a moment to relax he admired the scenery around him. It was not that big of a cavern as he thought but big enough to hold them and allow for a generous amount of wiggle room. At the other end of the room was a passageway that leads further into the cave. Various crystal-like minerals dotted the surrounding, on the ground, the wall, and the ceiling. Some large, and some small with a myriad of colors and light reflecting off of each surface. It was honestly a stunning sight.

Shirou's [Blacksmith] class kicking in and his vision was flooded with information regarding the quality of each crystal.

"Ore deposits and not just that but also data crystal mineral deposits as well. I even see a few Legendary and Divine tier mixed in."

"Looks like we hit the jackpot. Wooohooo!" Yamiko whooped. The others join in as well, especially with such a rare and lucky discovery.

"Let's get them first before we start celebrating. EMIYA-san do you have them?" The crustacean blacksmith interjected.

Shirou nodded. Operating his menu, he brought out several pickaxes and dumped them on the floor. In YGGDRASIL items like torches and pickaxes were consumables, thus they would wear down or break after certain usages. It was for this reason that Shirou went to town in order to purchase some pickaxes for the venture. Amanomahitotsu reached for one and so too did Shirou.

Shouldn't we help you guys?" The pink slime asked.

"No. With high quality ores and minerals like these, only those of the blacksmith class can safely extract them. Anyone else would just degrade the quality of the material." Amanomahitotsu explained.

"He's right. Leave this to us, in the meantime, we should still be careful as enemies might spawn or rush us from that other pathway." Shirou added.

With utmost concentration, Shirou began mining the material. Miming worked very similarly to a mini-game. Circular sweet spots appeared on the deposit. Players would manually use their pickaxes to mine, hitting those sweet spots will help in chipping it away faster. The minerals tier determines how difficult it would be to perfectly mine it with a large margin for error for Legendary and Divine data crystal. This made absolute concentration important lest one single mistake can result in a degraded ore or data crystal.

The next half an hour flew by in silence. The party remain vigilant of any enemies but quickly gave up by the ten-minute mark and remained silent as to not disturb the two miners. The more antsy players like Peroroncino and Yamiko were bored out of their minds but kept it to themselves. Even the others were starting to feel the effects as they did nothing for a full thirty minutes. Only the thought of collecting the rare and valuable data crystal kept him grounded.

 _'This is quite the haul.'_ Shirou thought. One more hit and he finally exhausted the deposit. Finishing the last deposit, he looked back up to see Amanomahitotsu finishing up as well.

"Alright, what's the score?" Ulbert eagerly rubbed his hands together.

"I've managed to mine plenty of high-quality ores like diamond, ebony, platinum and even adamantite. For the data crystals, plenty of legendary tier and a couple divine tiers."

"Mine was not that different from Amanomahitotsu-san, though I do have more divine tier data crystals and… huh?" Shirou trailed off as he suddenly realized something. "Where's Peroroncino-san and Yamiko-san?"

"My brother and Yamiko-san were getting a bit too antsy, so we decided to let them explore the rest of the area."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

"Perhaps, but we didn't want to disturb you. We also gave explicit instructions for them to retreat if they encounter anything. They haven't messaged us back yet so…"

At that moment the party received a group message from Peroroncino.

"[Touch Me: Peroroncino? Yamiko? Is something wrong?]"

"[Peroroncino: Errr, not exactly boss. Turns out the passageway just leads into this smaller room. We haven't encountered a single thing.]"

"[Tabula: A room? Anything of note inside?"

"[Yamiko: Completely barren save for this…statue.]"

"[Bukubukchagama: A statue?]"

"[Amanomahitotsu: What does it look like?]"

"[Peroroncino: It looks like…actually, I don't a single idea what it looks like. It just looks… weird.]"

"[Momonga: Weird? In what way?]"

"[Yamiko: It's hard to describe. You're going to have to see it for yourselves.]"

"[Ulbert: Why the hell are we bothering with something like a statue? We just got the jackpot and instead of distributing it we're all suddenly interested in a statue.]"

"[EMIYA: I don't see any harm in checking it out. We already know there are no enemies so what's the harm in spending another few minutes in here?]"

The others made noises of agreement while Ulbert simply grumbled. With a near unanimous decision, the party entered further into the cave. The passage became narrower as they continued before reaching the entrance, the body of Peroroncino and Yamiko present. The room was indeed small, only having enough space to just barely fit the entire group at all. Shirou was the last in line.

"Huh, that is weird."

"I know right. Wonder what it represents?"

"Maybe a boss from some flavor text? It certainly looks the part."

Hearing all these comments piqued Shirou's curiosity.

 _'I wonder what it lo…oks…lik…e.'_ Shirou never finished his thought as he laid his eye on the statue in the middle of the room.

Type Mercury.

More accurately an extremely detailed statue of the ORT.

"W-what?!" He whispered.

That wasn't the end to the surprise however as the moment Shirou stepped into the room the statue glowed and promptly disappeared as its shape broke into motes of light. A magic circle appeared below their feet and before they could react the entire floor disappeared with the party dropping downwards.

"AHHHHHH!"

WHHHHAAAATTTT TTTTHHHEEEEEEE HHHHEEEELLLLLLL!"

"WEEEEEE'RRRRRRRREEEE!"

The group was free-falling down a long large hole, their screams reverberating and bouncing off the walls. For five seconds all they could see was total darkness before, like a light at the end of a tunnel they appeared in a new area. The hole they fell through lead to an even larger underground cavern.

It would have made quite the view had not all of them were screaming and waving their arms around like chickens with their heads cut off. Righting his sense of balance Shirou looked to see the ground was rapidly approaching. Gritting his teeth he quickly reinforced his body to the maximum limit and braced himself.

It proved unnecessary as they felt gravity inverse and their descent slowed down. One by one the nine different players landed safely on the ground. Each one collapsed, their labor breaths echoing throughout as they tried and calm their rapidly beating virtual hearts.

"What in the absolute fuck was that!"

"I think I almost had a heart attack!"

"That…that was crazy."

"What the hell, I thought you said that there's nothing there!" Ulbert screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the avian player.

"There wasn't or else me and Yamiko-san would have fallen first!" Peroroncino argued.

"It only triggered the moment EMIYA-san joined us. I can only assume just like the entrance it too had a condition requirement place on it and having all of us together triggered it." Momonga threw out there.

"Tch, they would make something like that. Lure players in and then grab the rug from under them. Damn shitty devs." Tabula cursed.

The others joined in with curses of their own. Shirou blamed a more specific individual, one trolling Root-damned immortal vampire.

"Anyway, it looks like there's more to this than we originally thought." Amanomahitotsu's comment snapped them out of their rage.

This new cavern they were in was very similar to the previous but much larger and grander in scale. If the previous cavern was stunning than this one was absolutely gorgeous. Hundreds if not thousands of crystals adorned the area all of different sizes. Some small sprouting from the ground and walls like grass and others, gargantuan pillars shooting from the walls and ground. Taking the cake for the largest crystal was the one right above them. Unlike the others light emanated from this crystal, bathing the area in a spectrum of blue. A crystal-clear lake lies within the center of the cavern, the sparkling water glistening under the light.

The group let out a collective 'Ohhh's.' and 'awww's' as they registered the majesty of the area. Even Shirou was taken aback by just how beautiful it was. Say what you will about YGGDRASIL but no one can deny that it has some of the most stunning views, real or otherwise.

"As amazing as this is, we need to get ready." Ulbert called out to everyone.

"What's makes you say that?" Peroroncino asked.

"Really?" Ulbert spread his arms, gesturing to the entire area. "There's no way those shitty devs would make assets like this and not have a boss right."

"I agree with Ulbert-san. The question is, where is it?" said Momonga, casting his vision to look for anything remotely like a boss.

"Everyone, over there." Touch Me pointed to the lake.

Following the party leaders' words all players looked towards the pristine lake. Where it was once still and quiet, bubbles were popping onto the lake's surface. First, a couple before hundreds of bubbles popped up. Something then shot up out of the lake, splashing water everywhere. A scaly head with acid green scales and spiky protrusions running along with its head. It wasn't just the one head as four additional heads burst from the lake. It's body partially concealed within the lake.

Shirou immediately recognized the creature. "A hydra!"

The five heads of the beast let out a monstrous roar, shaking the entire cavern itself. Crystal shards and stalactite shook loose and crash against the ground.

Up above away from the player's line of sight, a small crack appeared on the crystal. Something inside stirred.

 ** _'Clink. Clink. Clink.'_**

[Forgotten Hydra: Lvl – 150.] Three health bars appeared beside its name and filled up.

"Everyone! Get into position, by the look of it, it's an Area Boss. Won't give us too much trouble if we play it safe. Stay calm and keep focus!" Touch Me rallied. The party quickly organized themselves into the optimal position. Touch Me, Shirou, and Bukubukchagama positioned themselves close to the water. Yamiko and Amanomahitotsu remained on standby with Peroroncino taking to the skies. Ulbert, Tabula, and Momonga stayed at the very back, where they have a view of the entire battlefield.

"[Iron Will], [Maximize Defense], [Honor Guard], [Feet of flight], [Maximize Striking Power]." Amanomahitotsu applied several buffs and enchantments, aiding the vanguard.

"RRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRRRR" With a roar four of its heads shot towards the frontline.

Clutching Bakuya and Kanshou Shirou sidestepped the lunge. The monster's attack missed, its open jaw biting the crystal floor where Shirou was. Its long neck wiggled, trying to free itself. Recognizing it as its attack pattern Shirou unleashed a flurry of slashes and jabs against its scaly neck. The beast shook itself free and hissed, rearing its head back.

"[Chaos Flames]!"

"[Nightmare Burst]!"

"[Electric Cyclone]!"

"[Solar Snipe]!"

Momonga and the rest didn't remain idle as a barrage of spells and shots struck the hydra, each head letting out a scream of pain.

 ** _'Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.'_**

Overall, the fight itself wasn't that difficult, especially with a coordinated team. Despite its overall menacing appearance and size its only form of attack was its lunge. Bukubukchagama would draw in the aggro of the boss, tanking all the damage, allowing Touch Me and Shirou to wail on the heads without worry or fear. Yamiko kept her topped up with her healing while Peroroncino, Momonga, Ulbert, and Tabula fired off spells after spells with impunity. Within ten minutes the boss's first health bar was depleted.

The moment the first health bar was depleted the boss let out a terrifying screech, the hydra's body rocking the ground and cavern as its head shot out in a blind frenzy.

Shirou dodged one, Bukubukchagama tanked another, and a third head shot in a random direction. Two lunged towards Touch Me, but the World Champion was more than ready.

"[Stalwart Shield]" His shield glowed brightly. Timing it correctly Touch Me backhanded one of the hydra's heads with his skill, deflecting the attack.

"[Mountain Cleaver]!" Raising his sword up high he brought it down and severed the second head. The hydra let out another screech at the loss of one of its heads. Bright green blood gushed from the wound like a geyser, spraying it across the field.

"Everyone stay clear of the blood!" Shirou warned.

His words were proven correct as hissing noises emulated from the spots where the blood landed. Smoke arose as the acidic blood melted all it touched. Rearing all its head back the players were treated to a disguising sight. The neck that Touch Me severed started to convulse. The bleeding halted, and flesh began to regrow. Its severed neck splitting and forming into two entirely different heads.

Touch Me's attack wasn't the only one that incurred the transformation. A shot fired from Peroroncino and spells from the backline resulted in the destruction of the initial heads only to be replaced with double the amount. Once there were only five heads to contend with now stood ten. Twenty baleful eyes staring back at the players.

 ** _'Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.'_**

With twice the number of heads than before the boss attacked with renewed vigor, nearly overwhelming them.

Shirou's near century of experience and training allowed him to keep up to pace as four heads rushed at him. Light on his feet he danced around each lunge, attacking when possible. A quick side glance showed Touch Me standing his ground, his shield blocking any attacks coming his way and his sword striking whenever he could. As expected of one that held the title of a [World Champion]. Not even Peroroncino, who was in the air sniping the boss, was safe anymore as one or two heads of the beast would make a lunge for the winged player.

The fight continued with the player redoubling their effort. Not much changed in the boss's attack pattern save for just how many heads lunged at the players. The battle in of itself was repetitive and downright boring in Shirou's mind seeing as the hydra's only method of attack was its bite, leaving those within the backline to attack without any worry. The boss aspect of it came from the fact that the damn thing was damage sponge. Coming up on the twenty-minute mark they finished up its second health bar. This time however they would finish it once and for all.

"Tabula-san, Ulbert-san! Now!" Touch Me ordered.

"With pleasure [Super-Tier Magic: World's End]!" Unabated Tabula began the channeling process for his super-tier spell a minute before the depletion of the boss's second health bar. With no means of reaching the back-line casters, Tabula finished the channeling in time to coincide with his clanmate ultimate attack.

"Feast your eyes on he who has claimed the title of [World Disaster]!" Ulbert declared. "Let heaven be rent asunder, befall my machination and bring with it despair and destruction! – [ **Grand Catastrophe** ]!" Boosted by the [World Disaster] class, his ultimate attack [Grand Catastrophe] destructive power far outstrips even the mightiest of super-tier spells at the cost of roughly 60% of his mana.

The hydra couldn't even finish its programmed animation before the spells of the party's most powerful mage caster struck it. For the briefest of the moment, the whole world turned white and Shirou was forced to close his eyes and turn away from the source. The boss's horrifying shriek intensified but was drowned out by the collective blast that followed it.

Slowly, Shirou opened his eyes. The entire body of water was gone, completely evaporated thanks to the two spells. Where once the hydra stood now only a shriveled corpse remained. Its final health bar going from 100 to 0 in an instant. Cracks appeared along the hydra's body and spread across before the shriveled corpse cracked like glass and disappeared. Seeing the boss defeated the party broke out into cheers at their victory, all but one.

Something immediately stood out for Shirou.

 _'Where's the congratulation?'_ He wondered.

In the six months that Shirou has lived in YGGDRASIL, he had come to learn many of the world's mechanics and systems. While he generally kept away from full on dungeon raid and exploration he has come across his fair share of area, arena, and mob bosses. Every time he defeated them the world would always send a [Congratulation] screen indicating the fight was over and loot raining down.

Yet, none appeared.

This meant only one thing. It wasn't over, not yet anyway. If so, then—

 ** _'Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.'_**

His ears perked up, picking up on a strange noise. Reinforcing his ears Shirou recognized the sound, the crackling of glass.

How long has this been going on?

What was more worrying was where the source was emanating from.

Above.

Raising his head, he was struck shock at what he saw. The massive and pristine overhead crystal he saw before was now riddled with cracks.

"EMIYA-san?" He heard Momonga called for him. "What's wrong…" The skeletal mage petered off as he followed Shirou's line of sight and froze. Like a domino effect, the rest of the party followed Momonga's example and looked up.

 ** _CCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKK_**

With a booming crack, the crystal shattered and broke apart, raining crystals ranging from all size and shape down on them.

"Everyone back away!"

It was an all-out mad sprint to get away the general splash zone of the falling crystals. Shirou pumped all the mana he could into his [Reinforcement] and shot towards the walls. On the way, he grabbed a hold of Bukubukchagama and Amanomahitotsu and helped them along seeing as they were among the slower ones. Making in the nick of time the group braced themselves as slab after slabs of crystal slammed onto the empty lakebed.

The entire cavern shook like never before, knocking everyone to the ground. For a moment Shirou was worried that the entire structure would just collapse completely on them. Thankfully after a full minute, it stopped.

"Everyone alright?" Touch Me questioned.

All he received with groans and grunts accounting for everyone. Groans and grunts aside they all made it and were no worse for wear.

"What the heck was that?" Yamiko voiced the question everyone was thinking.

"We never got a [Congratulation] screen. Which means we're nowhere finish with the boss battle." Shirou grimly explained.

"Shit. EMIYA-sempai is right. Fuck!" Peroroncino cursed.

"Damn shitty devs, leave it to them to have a second boss right after the first!"

He wasn't alone as the rest of the party released their usual diatribe of pinning all the blame on those shitty devs.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a silhouette of something standing where the Hydra boss was, coincidentally, it too was the epicenter for where the crystal fell down on.

"Was there something it that broke free?" Shirou's eyes narrowed.

That silhouette looked familiar, very, very familiar. As the dust slowly settled it form became more recognizable.

 _'Ba-dum'_ Shirou felt his virtual heart skip a bit. If his body could it would have broken into a cold sweat. Dread and fear twisted in his stomach as dust cleared and he recognized the shape and form of the mysterious boss.

'No…no…It...not possible!' Shirou screamed within his mind.

His friends' words faded away as his mind seemingly traveled back in time. No longer was he standing in an underground cavern but rather an empty sidewalk. It was night time, lampposts providing what little illumination they can, and an eerie mist shrouding the area.

And from his memory suddenly something walked out.

A little girl, no older than twelve years old stood in front of him. A skin tone of alabaster white, white hair as beautiful as snow, and two crimson eyes that shined like jewels. She wore a long purple winter coat complete with a purple cap. A serene smile graced her lip. Overall, she looked to be the perfect picture of an innocent little girl.

She was anything but innocent.

In a flash, those eyes held nothing but glee and malice, and a hint of insanity. Her smile became twisted and sneering as if all those in her sight were nothing more than insects.

A shadow crept up, growing and growing before eclipsing the little girl entirely. An outline of a man, easily eclipsing the girl's height stood behind her like a silent vigil its form hidden by fog. Everything about it screamed monstrously. From its absurd height to its form and stature that no regular human could achieve. Only one thing was made visible within the fog, two burning red orbs that stared at Shirou.

Her mouth opened, and she spoke. Her voice as sweet as honey but dripped with malice and intent.

Three simple words. Three words that he'll remember till the day he dies.

"Get him, **Berserker**."

Snapping out of his memories, he saw that the dust finally settled within the cavern. Shirou's fears were proven correct. There, standing in the middle of the empty lakebed surrounded by colossal debris of crystalline pieces was none other than a Servant. Not just any Servant, The Mad Servant.

Standing there was Heracles, Berserker of Fifth Holy Grail War.

 **Berserker: Lvl – 250**

 **Status - God Hand: [12]**

 **Author's Edit 11/30: Note, there seems to be some confusion regarding the ending scene, I went back and added a few more details in order to fix it up and to get rid of any confusion. No, Illya isn't really there, it was Shirou remember back to the time he first met her and Berserker. Sorry.**

* * *

 **Omake:**

"Umm sir?" A programmer called out.

"What is it Phil?" Zelretch, dressed in a formal suit lazily turns towards him.

"We, well I, have some concerns sir."

"Whatever could you mean Rob?

"I mean I know we like to troll our player base but don't you think this is a bit ridiculous?" The employee brought up the stat chart of Berserker. "Eleven additional life combined with the npc powerful base stats as level 250 and complete resistance to the methods that kills it. I don't think even a legion (36 player party) would take something this on and win. Sir."

"That's the point Will. The greater the challenge, the greater the sense of victory that will come when (read as 'if') they beat it.

"Why do you keep on referring to me by a different name sir?"

"Because you're an unimportant background character that the author made up for this bit and will be banished to the realm of forgotten nobodies after this is all said and done." The vampire answered with a straight face.

"…R-right… But still sir, we should still be careful. We can only mess with our player base so far before they start getting sick of this and leave the game sir."

"Hmm, an interesting argument David." Zelretch nodded. "Counter argument. I'm your boss and I write your paycheck. So shut-up, sit down, and program a near unbeatable boss battle that can only be beaten by a stupidly over powered ability that allows a someone to spawn a near infinite number of powerful weapons that would make Divine tier weapons look like a wooden stick in comparison."

"That's… an oddly specific example sir."

"I'm not hearing a 'Yes sir!' John."

The programmer sighed. "Yes sir."

"Good, keep up the good work Ryan."

"Sir my name is…"

"And I don't care." Zelretch interrupted and disappeared from sight. With a smile on his face and skip in his step he made his way towards his office. "I love my job!"

* * *

 **Total Word Count: 11,335**

 **Author's note: By far the longest chapter I've written. Now we're introduced to Nines Own Goal and some more members of the original members of Ainz Oown Gown. More importantly, the introduction of Servants within the virtual world of YGGDRASIL. This was the first major shift I had planned and I do hope I handle the surprise well enough.**

 **Reminder: There won't be a new chapter next week due my Uni final's week. I know this must be rather cruel to leave on such a MASSIVE cliffhanger, and I really didn't plan for it to be like this but here it is. I'll try and make sure the next chapter is worth the weight.**

 **Also omakes. I've been thinking of incorporating funny omakes at end, all involving Zelretch and how much power and influence he can use just to punk the players. I imagined someone like Zelretch, whom can visit multiple realities can be rather genre savvy and self aware of everything that he's doing.**

 **My thoughts:**

 **1\. Servants: When writing and planning out the beginning for my story one thing I was concerned about was power escalation. Was there anything that I could write that would give the story a sense of weight and tension without having to rely too heavily on AU material. At the same time I didn't want the story to be completely an Ovelord story with only Shirou being added into the mix and nothing else. I immediately came up with servants as they in of themselves would make the perfect role for powerful bosses. That, and to shake up the formula and not rely on imaginary made up bosses but characters we all know and love.**

 **Why Berserker? Simple, it'll finally allow me to write Shirou using the full extent of his Unlimited Blade Works. Any other Servant could be taken down with enough coordination and team works. But not Berserker and that was why I chose him. Well, that and for one more specific reason but that won't come into play until much, much later.**

 **2\. Nines Own Goal/Ainz Oown Goal: From the beginning of the story people have been asking for HOW would Shirou join an all heteromorph guild. The answer was surprisingly very simple and easy for me. Most people seem to forget that before Ainz Oown Goal came into existence Nines Own Goal existed before it and was led by Touch Me. With my portrayal of Shirou in my story, it was easy to write a scene of the two meeting and Touch Me more than happily inviting him considering both are 'Heroes of Justice.' From what I remember from the Ln of Overlord, Nines Own Goal was first created by Touch Me as a clan of 'outcast' if you will, heteromorph, to ban together and help one another out. I figured Shirou would fit in perfectly.**

 **Please, do leave a review on your thoughts on the chapter. Good? Bad? Grammar mistake? Complaints? I read them all and they all motivate me to write better and faster. Each brings a smile on my face and it keeps me motivated to continue on with this story.**

 **See you in the next chapter. Estimated date: Dec 12-14**

 **Next Chapter:** **Nines Own Goal vs Berserker**


	4. Nines Own Goal vs Berserker

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **I'm back! It's good to be back, it really is. Finals are done and gone, so now I can have some free time with continuing this little story of mine.**

 **I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but wow. Just wow. Just two weeks ago this fic stood a steady 446 odd favorites, 594 followers, and 100 odd reviews. I never once thought that this story would get as far as it did. Sure I had some expectation and hope that it would be some what popular but I did not think it would garner this much attention! Jumping all the way to 800 favorites, almost 1,000 followers! (I still can't believe that!) and doubled the number of reviews as of last time. Again, thank you all so much for your continuing support!**

 **What first started out a simple idea and a pass time grew into something I really didn't think possible. Just simply amazing.**

 **Also let me thank to those reviewers that I've responded back and in turn got a response back. You know who you are, thank you for taking the time and giving me your opinions. Ultimately I've decided to stick to my guns and go with what I originally had plan. Which leads into my next segment of important announcement.**

 **I do not know what happened last chapter, if it was my shotty writing or whatever but allow me to reiterate, NO, Illya was not originally in that ending scene. It was Shirou reminiscing and having what amounted to be a flashback to his first time meeting Illya. So for anyone that missed it and wonder why Illya isn't in this chapter, it's because there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I hope that clears that matter up.**

 **Which leads into my other big announcement. I've managed to trick, err... I mean, approached by some amazing and helpful readers and friends that offer to beta for this story and provide some ideas to bounce back and forth with. This was actually why the chapter was delayed a bit. So hopefully they will help in preventing anything like last chapter from cropping up again. In all seriousness, this does take a load off my shoulder knowing I don't have to quadruple check my writing all the time before uploading only to find out I made anywhere between a few to a bunch of mistakes that I should caught on hindsight. For those that have trouble with my odd phrasing and grammatical error can rest easy now. **

**Going by the reviews and comment on last chapter a lot of you seem to like these funny little omakes and so do I. You'll be ha** **ppy to know that there's another one at the end of the chapter. Another episode of Zelretch doing what he does best, and that's whatever the heck he wants at the expense of everyone.**

 **This would be usually the part where we answered some of the reviews and questions left behind, but a majority of them are in regards to the topic of Illya and we already address that bit, so that eliminates roughly 95% of all comments and questions.**

 **With that said, please enjoy the chapter!**

 **Beta and Helper: Genesis09 and Dante Evans **

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Nines Own Goal vs Berserker. Pt.1**

The cornerstone of any good MMO-RPG is not the land which players can inhabit, but the lore and creatures that breathe life into said world. A game about exploration and discovery wouldn't be exciting, if the you were provided a road guide. No, to bleed at your enemies' attacks, to cry in frustration at your deaths, and to scream in joy as you fell a giant with your sword. That, is what strengthens the fantasy of your victories.

Nothing exemplifies this more, then the bosses that populate the virtual world.

YGGDRASIL, across its nine different playable realms, boasts a combine total of over 3,000 total bosses. Field, wandering, area, raid, hidden, end, and even world bosses. Just a few of the tremendously different enemies that exist in YGGDRASIL. The later of those even received their titles due to their indominable strength and sheer difficulty spike

Furthermore, unlike many of its competitors in the gaming field, YGGDRASIL bosses are never uncreative or boring by design. Each is carefully and lovingly crafted to be a herald of the players' doom. The most striking factor of their creation, however, is the way they challenge players.

Enemies up to level 150, can be considered anything from a field boss to a dungeon boss, one main distinguishing feature between them being location. While hard, a well-coordinated team would have little trouble against such opponents.

Then there are the dungeon and raid bosses that fall into their own separate category. They follow much of the same trend as those before it but what makes Dungeon and Raid boss so challenging would be the condition in which they are faced in and how many. Many are restricted to the treacherous and dangerous multi-layered dungeons and areas that are hidden with the worlds. Made only more dangerous by how many players would face should they try their hand at completing a full dungeon. These often-required Legions in order to complete.

End bosses. The previously thought final category of bosses that players thought were the strongest until the level-breaking bosses were discovered. These bosses leveled at 250, nearly three times the highest player level combined with their already absurd stats and abilities made it near impossible to win. A fully equipped Legion with at least ONE World Class item was needed in order to even win.

In YGGDRASIL there is on record a total of 32 level-breaking bosses. The "World Enemy" as dubbed by the player base. 32 beyond broken level bosses with a max level of 500 and numerous abilities and stats that it's near impossible to win. Only seven of the thirty-two have been found. The Eight Dragons, The Lords of the Seven Deadly Sins, The Ten Archangels of the Sephira, The Celestial Lord of the Sixth Heavens, The Five Rainbow Buddhas, The Five Celestial Death Throes, and The World Eater. It was speculated that no less than a hundred players were needed to even attempt one of these broken bosses and the usage of at least two World Class item. So far none have been beaten and many wonders if any could be.

"Of course, they're hard. They're called **Bosses** for a reason. Would be boring if all it takes is one or two retries just to kill it." – Zelretch in an interview in regard to the game absurd difficulty.

* * *

 **November 8th, 2130. World: Vanaheim. The Mysterious Cavern - End Boss Arena**

Even after all these years Shirou could perfectly describe each and every one of the servants from his time in the Fifth Holy Grail War. None stood out more than the monstrous form of Berserker. Standing at more than two and a half meters tall it towered them all. Its skin was equally unnatural, taking on the texture of granite. At first glance one could be forgiven for mistaking it for a massive sculpture of a muscular man bordering on inhuman, like something one would see in a museum. It wore nothing save for an armored kilt to shield his dignity and armored bracers on its wrists and ankles.

At a second glance you'd notice that its inhuman face appeared to be set in a perpetual snarl-like expression, resembling something more like a mad beast than **a** man. Multiple bulging veins popped out of his face, twisting and distorting its facial feature. A mop of raven-black hair flowed down its back giving it the barest resemblance to a human being. Lastly at his side was a weapon if one could call it that. It looked as if someone took a slab of stone and carved it into a club with a bladed edge. Crude but obviously effective given its apparent size and assumed strength.

It stood there, menacingly, its cold crimson eyes watching them like a beast waiting for the opportune moment to seize its prey.

'Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.' Shirou felt his virtual heart was hammering away.

When was the last time he felt this… genuine fear? Fighting against magus and Dead Apostle were no cake walk but it was an entirely different affair when dealing with a Heroic Spirit; the manifestation of a true hero of legend.

Closing his eyes Shirou took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Opening his eyes once more Shirou's mind quickly got to work. The first thing Shirou noted was that Berserker hadn't attacked them yet. That meant he was a Passive Boss. Passive Bosses are a rarity in YGGDRASIL outside of dungeons. Unlike the many different POPs and mobs that are programmed to attack on sight, Passive Boss, as the name implies, do not. In order for a fight to be initiated, the players would have to attack first. A condition that easily allows for a well-organized team to prepare and lay out traps and back-up plans.

A lucky break for them.

Secondly:

 **Berserker: Lvl – 250**

 **Status – God Hand: [12]**

Berserker's level was 250, easily putting it in the category of End Boss. That was secondary to Shirou compared to the status that was beneath his name. The Noble Phantasm: God Hand, an anti-unit phantasm that granted Berserker 11 additional lives. Derived from Heracles own legend of the Twelve Labors. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Noble Phantasm also granted Berserker complete immunity to whatever it is that killed him in the first place. Effectively making it impossible to kill him twice with the same method.

Of all the rotten luck. Had it been literally anyone else it wouldn't have been a problem. But under normal circumstances it was next to impossible to truly defeat the Mad Servant. Shirou would be the deciding factor, that much was for certain. He knew that against Berserker's innate magical resistance 9th tier spells would basically bounce off him. Even 10th tier spells would do only so much against it. With that in mind what were their options? Their party numbered only 9, hardly a fully equipped Legion and some of them were still drained from the battle with the Hydras. What if…

"Emi…Emiy…EMIYA-san!" A voice called out to him. Drawn away from his thoughts, Shirou looked to find everyone's attention focused on himself. To his side was his faithful undead friend shaking his shoulder. "EMIYA-san, are you there? We've been calling out to you for a minute now, but you just stood there frozen." Despite a lack of facial animation, his voice was enough to convey his concern.

"I-yes. Sorry, I was just…thinking." Shirou replied, taking a quick glance at Berserker. Again, it was uncharacteristically content with just standing there. "What were we talking about?"

"We were discussing ways of beating it, but—".

"It won't work." Shirou absently minded told Touch Me. This once again drew everyone's attention.

"You haven't even heard the plan yet EMIYA-san. How would you know if it will or will not work?" Tabula asked, his voice betraying hints of his apprehension and suspicion.

Shirou cursed himself mentally, had he really been so lost in thought he forgot his situation? Here he was, standing among a crowd of individuals who held no knowledge of his history with this particular opponent. Sadly enough, he didn't have a way to take the words back. On the other hand, to quote a popular English phrase; in for a penny, in for a pound. "Because simply attacking it repeatedly like the Hydra will only get us killed." Shirou explained. "Everyone, take a look at what is underneath his name." He drew their attention back towards the boss.

"Ahh the boss status. We were speculating what the number means. Out best guess would be a counter but for what we don't know." Amanomahitotsu joined in.

"Lives."

"Excuse me but what?" said Yamaiko.

"Lives." Shirou repeated, his voice grim. "God Hand grants Berserker additional lives. In total he has twelve."

All was silent while Shirou watched as they digesting the sudden revelation dropped on them. It only took a few second before the group burst out into conversation, each one talking over the other. Half were complaints and cursing those shitty devs, the others were discussing what to do now, and how to deal with the new piece of information.

"How the hell do you know all of this?" Ulbert questioned, suspicion clear in his voice.

"…You wouldn't believe me even if I tried to explain."

Shirou's response angered Ulbert, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?! Skip the vague crap and just tell us! We're in this mess because you were the one that wanted to check out the statue and that lead to us being trapped down here!"

"My apologies, but rather than pointing fingers let's figure out a way to win and escape!" Shirou shot back with a bit more fire than usual. Ulbert's antics were starting to grate Shirou's nerves. He had been nothing but cordial to him, but Ulbert antagonistic personality was starting to wear him thin.

"Easy, easy!" Touch Me intervened. Shirou silently backed and took a deep breath to regain his composure. "While I don't mostly agree with Ulbert-san." Touch Me shot him a look and the goat heteromorph backed down. "Ulbert-san does make one interesting point, how do you know this EMIYA-san?"

"…If needs be, I'll be more than happy to tell you AFTER we deal with Berserker." He stressed.

"So it has some extra life big deal I'm sure with you, EMIYA-sempai and everyone working together we can beat it in no time." Spoke Peroroncino, trying to remain optimistic.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Again, being the bearer of bad news. "Not only does God Hand add additional lives but it also strengthens him. For each method we use to kill him, he gains an immunity to." Said Shirou dropping another bombshell.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"That means we need to kill it with twelve unique attacks."

"How the hell are we going to do that?"

"Great. Not only does it have multiple lives, but we need to be creative in how will kill it. Any else you want to add EMIYA? Does it also have an instakill move or something ridiculous to add to the pile?" Ulbert sarcastically quipped but even Shirou recognized that Ulbert was feeling anxious.

"Were it any other situation I would say it's impossible for anyone to win. That is if you don't count me."

"What do you mean EMIYA-san?" said Bukubukchagama.

Rather than directly voicing his answer he held out his hands. Motes of blue light formed and coalesced. A flash of light later, appearing was a pair of striking pink gauntlets, an exact replica of the ones found on Yamaiko.

"I-what?" Yamaiko numbly mumbled. She looked down to her own pair before looking to Shirou's. She repeated this a few more time just to make sure she was seeing this correctly.

"I wanted to keep this a secret but if I had a choice, I would much rather show it all now to you all than by accident. This is my special ability if you will. Tracing." Shirou dismissed the copy Yamaiko's gauntlet and traced an exact copy of Touch Me's sword. **[Heroic Triumph – Divine Tier Sword].** Holding it out to Touch Me the paladin gingerly grabbed it and raised his own, appraising both weapons at the same time.

"They're the same." Touch Me shockingly exclaimed. "The stats are a bit lower compared to mine but it's a near one-to-one recreation."

"I thought you were a rogue/archer hybrid EMIYA-san." Momonga immediately questioned.

Hearing this Shirou allowed himself a small chuckle. "Ah but Momonga-san, **when** have I ever said that?" Momonga opened his mouth to answer but found none coming to him. Recalling Shirou's exact words an epiphany struck him.

Never. He never once stated that he was indeed playing as a rogue/archer hybrid class build. Looking back on it Shirou never did outright confirm or deny anything said about him. He and everyone assumed that was indeed his job classes as that was all they've seen him use and nothing else.

To allow others to weave a story of their own to avoid telling the truth.

"While your true abilities are certainly terrifying EMIYA-san I still don't see how that will help out in this fight? This God Hand would simply nullify whatever method used to kill him won't it?" Tabula inquired.

"That's true but there's a loophole to his ability. If I were to say, kill him with a certain skill using Touch Me's sword than God Hand could adapt and make him immune to the weapon and skill that killed him. However, if I were to use a different weapon…" He raised his second free hand and appeared a golden sword.

"…Then it would count as a separate kill, overruling God Hand." Finished Shirou, showing the stats of the weapon being on par with Touch Me's maxed Divine tier weapon. One by one it clicked into each member heads. Shirou's tracing ability was the perfect counter to Berserker's God Hand.

"How many weapons are you capable of summoning EMIYA-san?"

"More than enough."

"…I see. I call for a vote to transfer leadership to EMIYA-san! He appears to be the most knowledgeable regarding this boss and is our best chance at beating it. Does anyone object?" Touch Me called to order. A round of no's later Shirou was quickly explaining all he could. Berserker still hadn't moved a muscle, allowing the team to strategies and prepare for as long as they wanted.

In YGGDRASIL, unlike most normal MMO-RPGS there was no quick and easy way to refill one's MP once it either runs out or low. Certain potions can increase MP regen but there was no instant refill. This was a planned decision on the developers of YGGDRASIL as they wanted to make it a challenge, where every decision made was important and mattered. Adding another layer of difficulty to the game as if a party's mage casters were to run low on MP it would spell the doom of the entire party.

This was the issue they were facing. The group's magic casters had used a fair bit of their total MP during the battle with the Hydra none more so than Ulbert, whose final attack took up 60% of what little remained of his MP bar. Shirou quickly distributed high tier MP regen potion for them but it would take at least four full hours before Ulbert or any of them would be at full capacity again. Time that the group unfortunately didn't have any longer.

At the one hour mark a timer appeared just above Berserker's head counting down from half-an-hour. It wasn't hard to guess what it represented. They needed to speed up their preparations or they would end up facing Berserker without a finished plan in place.

Tabula and Momonga would be well off enough to use their trump cards with Ulbert providing the occasional support with his high damaging spells, while the rest would provide what support they could. In the end it would be up to him

Shirou was a big fan of the adage: No plans survive first contact with the enemy. Shirou lost count the number of times he went in prepared only to have to improvise his way out of the situation.

The biggest issue was the lack of information. The Berserker they would be facing could just as easily be entirely different from the ones all those years ago. It could be stronger, or it could be weaker. Something he immediately noted and was suspicious about was in regard to the Madness Enchantment given to all Berserker class servant. In truth he half expected Berserker to attack them the moment he appeared, but he didn't. Was there something he was missing? Whatever scheme Zelretch cooked up it wouldn't be good, that much was for certain.

With less than a minute on the clock left the group got into position. The terrain has changed drastically from before as the area was now littered with large crystalline slabs. The once open field now restricted with crystals obstructing it, reducing freedom of movement by a fair margin. The groups casters remained at the very back and separated by a large margin from one another, Peroroncino took to the sky, Amanomahitotsu and Yamaiko in the middle group ready to spring into action and provide the vanguard with support. Finally, Shirou, Touch Me and Bukubukchagama stood at the forefront.

It was decided that Yamaiko was too precious with her healing to serve as an off tank so that role laid solely on Touch Me and Bukubukchagama.

Twenty seconds remains.

"Peroroncino-san. On my signal." Shirou called out.

"Roger EMIYA-sempai!" High above the air Peroroncino floated, his golden bow at the ready. Notching the string of light back particles of solar energy formed and condensed into an arrow. The light from it grew at every passing second.

Five seconds remained.

"Now!"

Peroroncino called out, "[Hyperion Flash]!" releasing the arrow of condensed light, and it reached Berserker within half a second. The conflagration of the attack burned bright almost like a miniature star. The dust quickly settled revealing naught but a scratch on him. The only clue that showed he did indeed take any form of damage was slight reduction Berserker's HP bar.

Finally, Berserker moved, it's muscle bulging and contracting. The ground rumbled as the giant prepared itself. Its two crimson orbs flared, glaring at all in its sight.

"▁▂▃▃▅▄▉█!" Berserker released a guttural roar, sending miniature shock waves and shaking the cavern. With a single step the mad servant launched itself towards Shirou and the rest, each step cracking the floor beneath its feet.

Shirou braced himself.

"[Iron Defense], [Maximum Fortress]!" The ever-faithful tank of the party called out as they moved to confront the rampaging Berserker directly.

Rearing its weapon back Berserker swung its axe-sword at the heteromorphic slime. The weapon struck true against the heavy defense of the slime's skin but Bukubukchagama held strong. After the initial rush of attacks her HP dropped roughly 7%.

Touch Me and Shirou rushed in. Kanshou and Bakuya sung in his arms as his hands blurred each movement producing a slash, digging into the iron flesh. The Noble Phantasm's anti-monster attribute working perfectly to damage Berserker. Touch Me was no slouch either as his silver blade arched and slashed, each strike bearing down on the mad titan.

"▃▃▂▅▅▅!" Berserker roared in pain. He swung his weapon in an arc-like fashion in an attempt to cleave them in half or at least drive them back. Shirou easily maneuvered around the massive weapon while Touch Me used his shield to block the attack.

"Uggh!" The paladin grunted, pushed back by the powerful blow. Setting its sight on the insectoid paladin Berserker readied an attack only to be interrupted.

"[Draw Hate]!" Bukubukchagama activated her skill. Instantly Berserker's attention moved from Touch Me to Bukubukchagama again. [Draw Hate] was very useful spell that draw in the aggro of any bosses or enemies nearby, helpful in drawing attention away from non-tank players. Berserker swung his sword and the pink elder slime tanked the hit allowing for Touch Me to retreat to a safer distance.

"[Rapid Fire]!" A series of light arrows descended on the giant and detonated. Growling, Berserker attention turned towards the sky where Peroroncino snipped from. Stomping his feet Berserker showed it was full of tricks as it launched himself towards the avian player with the intention of swatting it out of the air like a fly.

"[Rail Fire]!"

"[Twin Thunderclap]!"

Two spells were fired in the middle of Berserker's ascension. With little in the way of maneuvering the attack the two spells brought the boss crashing back down. Berserker crashed into one of the crystal pillars. A quick glance at its health bar showed it was still firmly in the green but reduced only to 7/8 of its original health pool.

"So far so good." Shirou thought. The plan was simple in theory, keep moving and attacking. The group would rotate the Hate of Berserker as to allow for the party to kite the massive boss with minimal effort and casualty.

Attack. Draw back. Attack. Draw back. Rinse and repeat.

Simple and if the fight was anything to go by it was working.

Still, he couldn't shake he sense of unease he felt. If anything, it only intensified as the battle went on. The fight was going smoothly. Too smoothly for Shirou's liking. The Berserker he was facing in front of him was far weaker than what he initially imagined. To put it bluntly the fight with this virtual Berserker felt sluggish in a way. It's movement, speed, and general sense of flow felt scripted like many of the computerized bosses within YGGDRASIL.

Shirou shook his head, now wasn't the time for asking what ifs. Fake or not Berserker was an End Boss, one that demanded nothing less than one's full attention and strength.

Getting back to the battle at hand the plan continued forward with little issue. Shirou, Touch Me and Bukubukchagama would draw in Berserker and attack whenever possible. Amanomahitotsu provided buffs for the party while Yamaiko kept their slime tank topped off. Peroroncino would run interfere and draw the Hate of Berserker from time to time to allow for the vanguard a moment of respite. Once attention was turned towards the bird heteromorph the magic caster in the back would attack without having to worry of friendly fire. Next Berserker Hate level would shift to Momonga and the rest wherein Bukubukchagama would use [Draw Hate] to shift its attention back to the vanguard.

In essence they were leading Berserker around like a horse with a stick and carrot.

Finally, they managed to whittle down Berserker's health into the red zone. Despite Super-tier magic being hailed as the strongest spells in all of YGGDRASIL there were some bosses that had certain resistances and even immunities to them under specific condition. They were unsure if Berserker possessed either or, so they played it safe and reserved it until they knew for certain that the spell would finish it off.

"Tabula-san! Start it now!"

"Roger!" The brain eater replied. Spreading his arms apart a transparent dome-shaped magic circle appeared around Tabula, encompassing the magic caster. Archaic runes and letter flashed to life, rotating in motion with the magic circles.

Amongst the group beside Ulbert, Tabula was hands down the second most powerful magic caster, his specialty being high damaging charged up spells or Super-tier magic compared to Ulbert's short but ultimate burst of damage spells.

All they needed to do was keep Berserker preoccupied for no more than a minute.

Simple.

Then it happened. Berserker stopped mid swing, frozen, as if someone had pressed the paused button on a remote. His head snapped towards Tabula and ignoring everyone made a mad dashed towards the squid face heteromorph.

Shirou's eyes widened. 'What the…!' Impossible! There was no reason for Berserker to suddenly switch target when all of Berserker's Hate was on him. To ignore his previous programming and follow his instinct...

"Someone stop him from getting to Tabula-san!" Touch Me ordered.

"[Splinter Shot]!" Peroroncino fired several arrows of light that promptly split apart into even smaller, but speedy arrows.

Once again Berserker surprised them all. With great forte and speed that betrayed his bulky appearance the mad servant weaved and even countered the incoming fire. Its previous cumbersome movement and style replaced with something else. Something much deadlier, reminding Shirou very much of the original Berserker.

"Trace bullet!" Shirou invoked. The magic circuits within glowed and activated, humming as pure prana coursed through them. Appearing above him were seven or so basic swords D-rank at best. He poured all the prana he could within these swords turning them into weaponized Broken Phantasms.

At the rate Berserker was going none of them would reach him in time but his swords could.

"Trace fire!" Going from zero to mach 3 in an instant, they flew across the battlefield and reached the rampaging boss. Mentally altering the trajectory, he willed the swords to strike at Berserker's side in order to knock him away from Tabula. Berserker sensing the incoming threat struck three of the weapons, forcibly detonating them early. However, the remaining four struck true and knocked him back.

"Holy shit! Did EMIYA-sempai just fire swords at it!? That's sooo cool!" Peroroncino gushed.

"Fanboy later otouto! Keep him grounded!" Bukubukuchagama ordered.

Pumping prana into his legs Shirou was the first to reach Berserker and kept him preoccupied. All he needed to do was stall for fifteen more seconds!

"[Super-Tier Magic: Call of the Old Ones]!" Tabula called forth his ultimate attack. Reinforcing his leg Shirou jumped back and away from Berserker just as the spell went off. Appearing above and on the ground below Berserker was a nauseous green tinted spell circle. The two-spell circle spun, energy generating and sparking from its center. Before Berserker could relocate it went off, a burst of neon green and black energy shot forth from both magic circles. The outline of some eldritch horror flicked within the burst of energy. After twenty whole seconds the Super-Tier magic was finished.

Where once the muscled Berserker stood was replaced with a shriveled-up corpse. Its health bar reduced to zero.

 **Status – God Hand: [11]**

The group didn't even have time to celebrate before steam hissed from Berserker's body. God Hand had activated and with it life slowly returned back to the mad servant.

"It would seem you were indeed correct EMIYA-san. Quite the frightening ability this boss has." Touch Me commented.

"You have no idea…" Shirou wryly answered. Mentally he was timing Berserker's regeneration. From what he could remember Berserker's God Hand typically took around 7-to-10 seconds for a full regeneration. Here it took a full twenty seconds.

"▂▃▃▃▅▅▆▇▇▇!" Berserker roared back to life.

"One life down. Eleven more to go…" Shirou mumbled to himself.

Dashing towards the servant the battle began anew. Again, the feeling of unease returned as Berserker switched back to its scripted attack patterns.

When deciding in what order to kill Berserker it was decided that Super-Tier magic and Momonga's trump card would be the first to check off the list. Reason being Berserker's already ludicrous magic resistance and endurance made it where only 10th tier magic would even do damage to the mad servant. Combined with their already high MP cost and the issue of the group's casters running on fumes it was decided to get magic kills out of the way first. That way the group could then worry about providing the occasional buffs and utility spells whenever needed.

Berserker's second life was a repeat of the first with the group kiting the absolute hell out of the boss, running it ragged until Berserker's second health bar finally turned red. 1/6 of its original health pool.

Tabula had his turn, now it was time for Momonga to shine.

"[The Goal of All Life is Death]!"

Momonga's trump card, and one that he discovered by complete accident. This powerful ability was unlocked to him once he unlocked the super-secret job class of the Overlord, one that specialized in instant death magic and necromancy. Further unlocking the hidden job class [Eclipse]. Using the ultimate spell combined with the [Eclipse] class boost in power; any and all instant death spells or skills are capable of ignoring any and all immunities and resistance. Be they players, mobs, or even bosses. None can stand before the Eclipse Lord of Unlife!

A spectral like clock appeared behind Momonga, it rung once signaling the impending death. It required a start up time and fortunately for them, they didn't have to wait as long as they did for Tabula's.

This time Shirou wasn't imagining it, recognizing the shift in the virtual Berserker stance. It stopped his previous assault on Bukubukchagama and ignored its Hate value in favor for Momonga.

'The triggers appear to be the attack or spell that has the potential to finish it off.' Shirou noted.

"Trace Bullet: Rapid Fire!" Shirou summoned two dozen weapons and fired them as soon as they materialized. Bombarded by the incoming hail fire Berserker was unable to reach the skeletal mage in time. Twelve seconds passed, and the clock rung twice, signaling the completion of spell.

"[Death's Embrace]!" A 10th tier spell, and one of Momonga's personal favorite. On its own it's a powerful spell however it has a secondary ability of instant death depending on the percentage health missing of its target. The spell had its usage in PvP, but it's true calling was a finishing attack against bosses with ridiculously high HP.

Momonga thrust his hand forward in the direction of Berserker. Appearing in his skeletal hand was a white wisp, the 'soul' of his target. Forming a fist with his bony hands he crushed the 'soul' of the boss.

Immediately like a puppet with its strings cut the boss abruptly stopped and dropped dead. It's HP rapidly reduced to zero.

 **Status – God Hand: [10]**

"Everyone sitrep." Shirou called out. They had twenty seconds, better not waste them.

"I'm full health." Touch Me answered back

"I'm all topped up as well." Said Bukubukchagama.

"My MP is getting a bit low, but I can manage healing you all." Yamaiko confirmed.

"Same, but I can still manage to buff the party if need be." Amanomahitotsu agreed.

"I'm a 110% ready sempai!" Chimed in Peroroncino.

"I'm down to roughly 10% of my MP bar." Momonga informed.

"Same. Though if what you said is true, I doubt our spells would do much against him now." Ulbert added.

"Unlike the other two, mine is perfectly healthy. I'll be assisting Amanomahitotsu-san if needed." Tabula reported.

"Good. We're moving onto Plan 2! Are you ready Touch Me-san?"

A quick looked revealed that Berserker was roughly halfway through his regeneration. The World Champion nodded to which Shirou returned with one of his own.

"Trace on!" Stretching out his hand his magic circuit flared to life, stronger and brighter than before. This time he was tracing just any old basic weapon. From his palm's neon lighting erupted, wild and untamed. Clenching his hands, he called forth the weapon from Unlimited Blade Works.

 **[Durandal: The Peerless Sword – Divine Tier Sword].**

A holy sword of legend and Noble Phantasm belonging to The Peerless Knight of Charlemagne, Roland. A sword with a golden and black cross guard with an equally black hilt, a small crystal orb lied within the sword's pummel, its blade simple and fair. It held a rather simplistic design but the sheer radiance it emitted proved otherwise.

"I must say EMIYA-san, you are full of surprises. I'm curious as to what else you have stored." Touch Me spoke softly, enraptured by the blade's magnificence.

"If we make it out of here alive, I'll be more than happy to give you a peek. For now…" Shirou's attention turned solely to Berserker who had fully regenerated.

"Indeed." Touch Me gratefully took Durandal from Shirou's hand. "Come! Let us vanquish this foe!" With a flourish Touch Me struck a pose, Durandal pointing at Berserker, his cape flapping majestically. An ever-present glow emitted from the Paladin, one that wasn't there before.

"Is Durandal reacting to Touch Me?" Shirou wondered. Roland was the leader of The Twelve Paladin of Charlemagne so there were some similarities between him and the World Champion paladin.

"[Lion's Pride], [Greater Force of Will], [Enchanted Arms], [Nature's Blessing], [Greater Stamina Boost], [Guard Force], [Lowe's Boost], [Lesser Essence], [Warriors Power], [Greater Boost Luck], [Pride's Strength], [Greater Regeneration]"

A plethora of enchantments and buffs were applied to vanguard courtesy of Amanomahitotsu, Tabula, and Yamaiko.

"▅▅▃▃▃▅▆!" Berserker roared and charged forward. Touch Me gave his own passionate battle cry and charged into battle. Overtaking both Shirou and Bukubukchagama, Touch Me met Berserker's strike. The clanging of steel and stone reverberating from the clash. Touch Me not only matched the servant's strength but even seemed to overpower it for that singular moment.

"[Cross Blade]" Durandal glowed and Touch Me attacked, four slashes struck Berserker. Following up his attack Shirou dashed towards it, unleashing a flurry of slashes, drawing its Hate.

The servant growled in annoyance and tried swatting him away like one would a pesky fly, but it proved more difficult than it had originally anticipated. Using the crystal debris as improvise cover, Shirou weaved through the field. Berserker's axe-sword smashed against the pillar but was unable to reach him. For something as massive as Berserker, the debris field was ideal for limiting its overall movement. With their magical finishing options out of the picture it was solely up to the frontliners to deal the necessary damage to Berserker.

Dashing from cover Shirou resumed his assault against the servant. Touch Me quickly fell into rhythm with Shirou. Should Berserker wise up and focus on him, Bukubukchagama or Peroroncino would intervene, either tanking the boss's hit or drawing its Hate with a barrage of arrows. While the strategy was indeed effective its one flaw was how tedious it was. As with magic no longer being a viable option all damage relied solely on the frontliners.

'Still, we're making good process.' Shirou considered, they were making some headway onto Berserker's third health bar.

"Forgive me EMIYA-san, but would it be too much trouble if I continue this fight on my own?" Touch Me suddenly requested. This snapped him out of his musing.

"W-what?!" Shirou exclaimed. He was unable to say any more as Berserker intervened deciding to cede the situation to Touch Me, hoping he knew what he was doing. Touch Me reacted almost immediately, intercepting Berserker's swing with Durandal. As the two stalemated one again, neither weapon giving way, Berserker pulled pack his fist and launched a straight punch towards the paladin.

"[Reflection]!" His shield, **[Earth Recover - Divine Tier Shield]** glowed, and he parried Berserker's attack, staggering him in the process.

"[Vorpal Pierce]!" Stabbing Berserker in the chest a burst of energy shot from Durandal and pierced the boss, pushing it back. The World Champion didn't let up and marched forward, never letting up.

"[Spiral Wave]"

"[Vortex Strike]"

"[Force Burst]"

"[Revenant Fang Cutter]"

"[Visceral Blade]"

"[Devastating Cleave]"

He used skill after skill, each one striking Berserker with the force of truck, staggering back the servant-turned-boss. Each skill and strike flowing from one into the next and the next, resembling a graceful dance. As he looked on Shirou wondered if it was just him, or if Touch Me was actually getting faster?

Touch Me continued to rain down blow after blow, not allowing Berserker to recover enough to counterattack. Shirou continued to watch, enraptured by the performance Touch Me was giving while keeping an eye out for any openings for him to renter the fray. And it wasn't just him, the rest of the party watched the ongoing fight with gleaming eyes.

"Damn, I knew Touch Me-san was good, being a World Champion and all but seeing it…" Peroroncino muttered but was loud enough for all to hear. A sentiment Shirou agreed with. In truth Shirou knew little regarding the title of World Champion. He knew it was a title handed down to those the developers consider as one of THE best players within all of YGGDRASIL, but it wasn't until he had seen it in the form of Touch Me soloing Berserker that he truly saw how appropriate and well earned the title was. He could probably count on one hand the amount of people he had met who could do that.

"[Heavenly Reflection]!" Blocking with his shield, sparks flew as Berserker recovered enough to attempt a counter attack, but the axe-sword recoiled as it made contact with Touch Me's silver shield.

"Raarrgh!" Touch Me roared. As his skill activated, a burst of white energy shot from his shield staggering Berserker again. Briefly dismissing his shield Touch Me grasped Durandal with both hands, and raised it for an overhead strike. A radiant aura surge from Touch Me, the ground beneath him cracking, Durandal radiating light to the point of near blindness.

 **"[World Break]!"** And he swung, and the world went silent. The only way for Shirou to describe the sensation was as if suddenly all noise died, replacing with a distant ringing in his ear.

[World Break] THE ultimate attack of those who bare the title of [World Champion]. The ultimate attack skill that no other skill can compare too be it in terms of damage. An attack that slashes and cuts the very fabric of space, time, and reality.

Durandal descended. One second Berserker was completely fine, his HP in the lower yellow. The next, nearly half of Berserker's right side of his body was completely gone. It wasn't just his body as Touch Me's attack traveled, cleaving away in a straight line the ground behind the servant and traveled all the way up to the ceiling. Berserker's let out a dying grunt before its body flopped to the side lifelessly, its third life taken by only a single skill.

 **Status – God Hand: [9]**

Shirou couldn't help but go slack-jawed at what he saw. 'Was Durandal always this powerful?' He thought.

The number of times he traced Durandal and used it could be counted on two hands alone. Perhaps the weapon was always that powerful or perhaps it was Touch Me that brought out its full potential.

Peroroncino summed it up perfectly "Holy Shit…"

Jumping backwards Touch Me joined Shirou and the rest.

"I apologize for the sudden scare and request EMIYA-san. I know that wasn't part of the plan, but I couldn't help myself."

"I-it's fine. It did work out in the end. Though, I do have ask about that…"

"Sorry. It's just been a while since I've fought against something that has gotten my blood to boil like this one here." Touch Me gaze dropped Durandal. "I got a bit overexcited." He sheepishly admitted.

 _'Touch Me is quite the battle maniac. Who knew?'_

The conversation was put on hold as Berserker revived itself one more. Slow to pick himself up the group organized themselves.

"Touch Me-san, if I may." Shirou held out his hand. The insectoid paladin was reluctant to let go of Durandal, but he knew had to for the next step of the plan.

"I do have a question EMIYA-san." Said Touch Me, reequipping [Heroic Triumph]. "Wouldn't Durandal be ineffective at killing this boss seeing as I killed it with Durandal."

"You would be correct Touch Me-san." Shirou dismissed the holy blade for later. "There's an idea I wish to try. If it works than all the better for us." Projecting a new set of Kanshou and Bakuya Shirou prepared himself. And so, they continued their little dance of death.

Durandal was a holy sword, said to have match the legendary Caliburn in terms of status and power. Blessed with three miracles it also possesses several amazing passive abilities such as its peerless sharpness, incapable of dulling by any means and it was indestructible. Not even Roland was capable to destroying his own sword.

These three miracles have been lost to time, very little of what they were existed leaving many to speculate. Some believe they were divine miracles, to be called upon an hour of need. Others believed the miracles lies within its passive abilities of peerless sharpness, to never dull even if the user runs out of prana, and its indestructibility. Neither group could seem to agree to which of these two were considered true. Shirou was much the same, but in his case he rarely cared. Durandal was an A ranked Noble Phantasm that required a lot of prana to be traced back when he still had his rather low prana reserve. It never made sense to use it when he had more viable and cheaper option.

At least until Shirou accidently uncovered and used one of its miracles. During one of his many adventure hunting down Dead Apostles he tracked one down to a rural down in Hungary. The Apostle had modified itself making it so only powerful Holy Swords would stand a chance. Fighting broke out in the middle of the night causing civilians to panic.

Shirou remembered the vampire ordering his servants to use them as meat shields. Desperate at the time to save as many as he could and wielding Durandal; it granted him one of its miracles.

Mentally returning to the battlefield Shirou discerned that Berserker's fourth Health Bar was low enough for the attack to work.

"Touch Me! I'm preparing the attack!"

"Understood! He shall not get past us EMIYA-san!" Touch Me declared with fire in his voice. Running forward he joined their fellow pink slime companion.

With that sorted out it was finally time. Projecting the holy sword once more Shirou began the incantation.

" **O' blessed sword hear my wish…** " Shirou chanted. A faint light sparked within the crystal jewel in its pommel.

As expected, Berserker instinct warned it of the danger. With a snarl the servant attempted to reach Shirou but was met with resistance.

 **"…Judge me worthy oh sacred miracle…"** Shirou continued. The light grew brighter and coursed through the sword, working its way from the pummel to the hilt, guard and blade.

Berserker roared, raging against the players like a wild beast against a cage, denying it its freedom. Touch Me and Bukubukchagama remained steadfast.

 **"…Blessed thee with power, power to halt all that would do harm…"** Shirou closed his eyes and raised Durandal up high. Light and prana coursed from the blade and upwards, a shining beacon.

Berserker only grew more frantic. It knew it was about to die. It needed to stop whatever was coming!

 **"…Let all thou shall know your name and face its miracle!"** His grip on Durandal tightened. Opening his eyes he swung the sword.

Brute forcing his way through the assembled defenders, Berserker darted towards Shirou. Unfortunately, too late to stop what was to come.

 **"DURANDAL!"**

From the swing a burst of pure white light shot forward, encompassing all in front of him. Similar to an Excalibur blast it bathed the world in front of him in white. The light slowly dimmed as Shirou dismissed Durandal. Despite being within the blast zone of Shirou's attack everyone was completely unharmed. The same couldn't be said about Berserker.

Most of its outer skin and muscles were vaporized leaving only skeletal remain of the boss.

 **Status – God Hand: [8]**

"That's four lives down… 8 to go…" Shirou mumbled. Suddenly he was struck by a wave of fatigue bringing him to knees. "I see that hasn't changed." He couldn't help but chuckle.

Durandal miracles were indeed powerful however Shirou never relied on them much back during his time on Earth as his body could never withstand the usage's aftereffects. It drew from the user's own strength of will in addition to consuming a large amount of prana and would often exhaust him completely if used recklessly. Normally it would take him no more than fifteen seconds to recover but considering his previous occupation even a second wasted could lead to death. Unfortunately, it seemed that aspect had carried over to YGGDRASIL.

"At least I've got friends to hel—"

 ** _'PPPPSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT'_**

Shirou's train of thought came to a complete stop as his ears were assaulted by a loud hissing noise. He turned to Berserker's corpse, unlike the previous iterations where it's flesh would simply sew and mend itself together this time blood red markings spread across his body with steam accenting the regeneration.

Where before it have taken twenty seconds to regenerate, this time he finished in ten seconds.

"▂▃▃▃▅▅▅▅!" Revitalized, Berserker roared and made a straight beeline towards the downed magus.

"Damn! Trace bulle—" Shirou was unable to finish courtesy of a powerful punch Berserker struck him with, knocking the winds out of his virtual breath. Hitting him with the force of what felt like a hundred of Rin's signature Gandr, the silver hair player rag dolled through the air, before crashing and tumbling against the hard ground before finally coming to a stop slamming into one of the many crystalline pillars.

"EMIYA-san!" Several voices screamed his name, but he was too disoriented to answer back. Unlike players he actually felt the pain, damn Zelretch. Lifting his head, Shirou was greeted with the terrifying sight of Berserker sprinting towards him again. His battle-honed instincts kicked, born out of dozens of years of fighting phantasmal beasts and other threats, took over and his mind raced, taking in everything and deciding upon an appropriate action, all within the span of a second.

At the rate of speed Berserker was about to slam into him, he knew it would be impossible to dodge. With that in mind he thought, why not use it to his advantage?

"Trace on!" Appearing in his hand was a golden spear. Bracing the spear against the pillar behind him and angling it so the flat of the blade was next to his chest as he held it, Shirou met Berserker's charge. Berserker slammed into the silver haired magus, Berserker destroyed the pillar and sent him rag dolling through the air once again.

A glance showed that Shirou's health was now in the lower yellow.

However, it wasn't for naught. Impaled through Berserker's shoulder was none other than the golden spear he had traced.

 **[Gáe Buidhe: Yellow Rose of Mortality – Divine Tier Spear].**

Gáe Buidhe, the famed weapon and Noble Phantasm belonging to the Irish knight of legend Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. A weapon forged through unknown magical means and passed on to him by the king of faeries. Its ability was passive in nature. Originally, anything wounded by the spear would receive a continuous curse in the form of an unhealable wound until the spear itself was broken. It lowered the opponent's maximum health limit, thus limiting healing and regeneration abilities to the point where the opponent received the injury. Essentially the curse made it so the body and the world accepted the wound as a part of them being fully healed.

In YGGDRASIL however it seems to have gotten a neat new little side effect. A yellow sheen coated Berserker, its health bar receiving a status aliment simply called [Lowered Resistance]

Seeing as the spear piercing Berserker's body had proved his little theory. As Berserker prepared for yet another charge, his allies were more than ready to stop him.

"Not this time!" Yamaiko uttered. Intercepting Berserker she cocked her fist back and released. **[Female Sensei's Iron Fist of Wrath].** Despite it's rather menacing appearance and classification as a Divine Tier weapon it was extremely weak when compared to the likes of Touch Me's or Shirou's weapon. However, the Nephilim Spiritualist's weapon specialty lied not in its damage potential but rather its ability.

The razor's edge of Berserker's weapon met the iron fist and instead of giving way a powerful shockwave was emitted the moment the two made contact, forcing back Berserker in a slight daze.

Knockback. The divine tier weapon special ability, capable to pushing back anything be they players or bosses.

Yamaiko wasn't done finish.

"[Mountain Fist Artform 7: North Star]!" Her first blurred, a flurry of pink strikes. Seven total hits with the last being a wild haymaker that sent Berserker flying to the other side of the cavern.

"[Arc Light Heal]! EMIYA-san, are you alright?" A spell circle appeared, and from it warm light radiated. As his HP regenerated Shirou could feel his strength returning.

"I'm fine, thank you Yamaiko-san."

Touch Me, Bukubukchagama, and Amanomahitotsu quickly rejoined the two.

"I'm soo sorry EMIYA-san! If I had known I—" Shirou politely raised his hand, stopping the pink's slime apology.

"It's fine Bukubukchagama-san. None of us could have expected that sudden shift."

"Indeed. Do not shoulder the blame Bukubukchagama-san. It is an End Boss after all." Touch Me backed up. "Though this fight has been quite taxing."

"I agree. Perhaps I can remedy that."

"What do you mean EMIYA-san?" the calm voice of Momonga questioned in a long time.

"A little experiment. I think I've found a way to lower Berserker's resistances both magical and physical." Shirou explained to the cheer of one particular player.

"Finally!" Ulbert happily exclaimed. "Here I thought me, and Momonga-san would be sitting here twiddling our thumbs while you get all the fun!"

Momonga nodded. For most of the fight he and Ulbert were forced to stay back due to their remaining low MP reserves and the issue of Berserker possessing and immunity to Momonga's Super-Tier magic and a high resistance to their 10th tier magic. With Shirou's statement they might now be able to contribute to the fight ahead.

"Trace on!"

Once again his magic circuits flared to life. Appearing around him were numerous copies of Gáe Buidhe, first five, then ten, then twenty, then forty! Pushing himself to the absolute limit he could trace at a time for a total of fifty Gáe Buidhe.

"Take this!" Thrusting his hand forward Shirou commanded the spears to fire. Streaks of gold flew across the field, their shine reflecting off the stained-glass crystals.

Berserker, undaunted by the mass of flying ballistic projectiles continued forward. His axe-sword striking with amazing speed as he managed to deflect some of them. Despite that, the number of weapons launched still outmatched his ability to defend, resulting in more than a dozen of them piercing the giant in various areas. Each spear casting a small debuff on him upon contact.

"[Arcane Missile]!"

"[Inferno Heat Wave]!"

"[Spatial Burst]"

With Berserker's resistances lowered the backline casters were able to contribute, firing spells to damage the mad servant. Touch Me, Bukubukchagama, and Yamaiko rushed forward, preventing him from reaching Shirou once more.

While the rest were keeping him distracted Shirou hastily consumed a few high tier MP regen potions as that last stunt took a lot out of him and he needed to replenish his prana if they want to continue.

"[Adamantine Boost], [Strider's Swift], [Boosted Defense], [Greater Endurance]."

A new set of enchantments and buffs were applied to Shirou.

"Much appreciated Amanomahitotsu-san."

"Of course, while I can't contribute as much as the others, I'll do what I can." spoke the crustacean blacksmith.

Allowing himself a moment to recuperate Shirou silently watched the rest of his party fight with Berserker. At least this time they were making fast progress on his health. Soon it was his turn again.

"Trace on!" Appearing in his hand was blood red spear with intricate carvings adorning the entire spear, running from its tip to tail.

 **[Gáe Bolg: The Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death – Divine Tier Spear].**

A demonic spear belonging to Cú Chulainn, Ireland hero and child of light. The spear of the Hound of Ulster. Even after all these years the cursed spear radiated a blood lust unseen by any weapon within his Unlimited Blade Works. Bathed in the blood of thousands be they man or beast its sole purpose is to kill. A weapon for which its barbed blade has taken the likes of heroes and foes alike only to add to its preputial blood thirsty nature.

Despite the years that had passed since his first encounter with it, Shirou could still recall in perfect detail everything about the weapon and its wielder, a certain blue lancer. It's cold blade cutting through his skin and muscle as if they were wet paper, piecing his heart with its cursed tip. The phantom pain ached over his heart at the memory of the one wound to truly leave a scar on him despite Avalon and the test of time.

Twirling the spear Shirou altered his stance, lowering his center of gravity, his arms stretch and legs apart, resembling the iconic stance of Lancer. The tip of Gáe Bolg began to glow and pulsated with bright crimson energy.

Shirou wasn't the only one that felt the weapon's blood thirst as Berserker quickly loss interest with everyone in favor of the silver haired magus.

"Everyone, hold him off of EMIYA-san!" Touch Me ordered. Like Shirou he quickly picked up on the Boss's pattern.

The group condensed on Berserker, doing everything they could to impede him and allow for Shirou to deal the finishing blow. With a momentary burst of power Berserker broke through and dashed towards Shirou but it wouldn't make it in time. Instead its next action surprised everyone.

"▂▃▃▅▅▇▇!" Berserker _**threw** _his weapon. A strategy that would have worked were it not for Amanomahitotsu's swift intervention. Using his body, the crustacean heteromorph took the attack meant for Shirou. Unable to move or help due to him needing to focus on channeling, the faker was forced to watch as Amanomahitotsu sacrificed himself for him.

"Go EMIYA-san!" With those final parting words Amanomahitotsu's HP hit zero and his body shattered like glass and disappeared. Leaving Berserker's axe-sword to fall to the ground where Amanomahitotsu had been, sticking from the ground like a gravestone.

In that moment something within Shirou snapped.

One could easily call Shirou's reaction to his friends' death to be needlessly dramatic. After all, it was just a game, Amanomahitotsu didn't truly die and would simply respawn at the local Respawn point perfectly unharmed if only a few levels lower. Still, to someone who had lived Shirou's life, facing monster after monster, hell after hell, the battle-mindset was second nature to him. And as such it was his natural reaction as he watched someone 'die' in front of him, unable to lift a finger to help. Instinct overran the logic of the situation and enraged the faker hero.

Pure and unrelenting killing intent surged forward from Shirou. Gáe Bolg happily drank it all in, eager to fulfill its masters wish to kill. The energy accumulating at its tip tripled in size and strength, and intensified bathing the surrounding in a field of bright crimson and bloodlust.

 **"Pierce! Gáe… Bolg!"** Shirou hurled the crimson spear forward. All the energy it had collected released in an instant. Like a crimson comet streaking across the sky it flew true aiming to take kill Berserker in a single move. Being the spear that reverses cause and effect there was nothing the mad servant could do, as 'He thrust his spear and he pierced the heart' had become 'the heart was pierced, so the spear must have been thrust'. As the crimson bullet speared through its iron skin and heart as if there were no resistance, momentum carried Berserker away, sending him flying back into a pillar where stopped. Pinned to it by the spear. Thousands of barbs then spread from the spear tearing apart the heart and its surroundings. It struggled valiantly, but pointlessly as in seconds it's fifth life was gone.

 **Status – God Hand: [7]**

With its duty done Shirou dismissed Gáe Bolg and the copies of Gáe Buidhe. Berserker's body collapsing to the ground with a dull thud.

"Damn! EMIYA-san, it's your call. Should I revive Amanomahitotsu or no?" Yamaiko checked in.

A decision that shouldn't be taken likely.

In YGGDRASIL the loss of player within something as critical as a dungeon raid or boss battle can make or break a run. The loss of a player also means that the remainder of the party would lose out on an entire skill set of abilities and attacks. Whether it be a tank to soak up damage and Hate, a healer to heal any massive damage done to the party, magic casters that deals fundamental damage to the boss, or even enchanters that keep the party afloat with various buffs and debuffs the boss.

Depending on the situation there were times where not reviving a player was the safer option. Resurrection magic spells existed only in the 8th tier and beyond, and as a result required an absurd amount of MP to use. There was also the fact that the resurrected player would be five levels weaker than they were originally and could result in them not contributing as much as they could before. Not to mention the cast time required to complete a resurrection could be interrupted easily, especially during a chaotic boss raid or battle.

Tough decisions need to be made and sometimes it was more productive to ignore the downed player and focus on the boss instead.

Out of all the players within the party, Amanomahitotsu dying was the most acceptable casualty. While Shirou would never look down or berate the crab heteromorph he had no choice but to admit that the blacksmith's build and classification weren't suited for boss fights. Also taking into consideration Yamaiko's remaining MP points, a resurrection spell would cost them minutes where she would have to sit and regenerate her MP unable to assist. Far from an ideal situation to be in considering she was their only front-line healer. Worse comes to worst, they needed to save the revival spell for someone they couldn't afford to lose like either Shirou or Touch Me.

Already Berserker's body was smoking, its wounds regenerating. Forcing Shirou to make the practical decision no matter how distasteful.

"…No. Save it Yamaiko-san."

His decision was made just in time as Berserker completely regenerated. Tracing a copy of Gáe Buidhe he waited for the right moment and fired it at Berserker so that it would hit just after the regeneration's invincibility frames ended. Unfortunately, the golden spear bounced off Berserker's flesh as if Shirou had thrown a stick at him. It seemed that God Hand had assimilated Gáe Buidhe as a part of Berserker's death at the hands of Gáe Bolg, prevented him from attempting the same strategy.

"Tsk." Shirou clicked his tongue. "I should have dismissed Gáe Buidhe before unleashing Gáe Bolg. Peroroncino-san how are you feeling?!"

"I'm good EMIYA-sempai! I can still go on!"

"Right. Everyone, we're moving to Plan 3!"

"Roger EMIYA-sempai!" The avian player gave a mock salute.

"Trace on!" Appearing in his hand was his customized black bow.

"[Reinforcement]!" Reinforcing his legs Shirou leapt up onto one of the many crystal pillars that stuck out of the walls. Allowing him to maximize his advantage for what was to come next.

Opening his menu briefly, he checked the time. Shirou grimaced when he saw that only an hour had passed since they began the fight, and during that time they had only taken down five of Berserker's lives. The third-rate magus could tell that his allies were starting to feel the fatigue themselves. Fighting for an hour straight was bound to tire them out mentally if not physically, even he could feel a headache forming.

Thus, they enacted Plan 3, he and Peroroncino would take over, kiting Berserker from range to allow the rest of the party as much time as possible to recuperate.

"Trace on!"

 **[Hrunting: Hound of the Red Plains — Divine Tier Sword].**

A weapon linked with legend of Beowulf and belonged to the hero and legend of the same name _Beowulf._ The legendary weapon was used to slay giant Grendel and all those that stood in his way. A blackened blade that radiated bloodlust but to a much lesser degree than Gáe Bolg. While Gáe Bolg was a weapon that existed to kill, Hrunting existed to, as its name implied, hunt down monsters. The difference between the two being that while Gáe Bolg would always strike the heart, Hrunting only had to draw blood. As a sword Hrunting possessed a pull towards its prey. It didn't matter if it was blocked, parried, or dodged it would even assist its wielder, redirecting the attack around the enemy's defenses and ruthlessly hunt their flesh until it bathed in the prey's blood.

However, it had another use, a technique that Shirou had shamelessly stolen from his Counter-Guardian self.

With a quick application of [Reinforcement] coating the obsidian weapon in red prana. Its form shifted and bent, until it took the form of a pitch-black arrow with small sharp edges coiling the from the shaft to the tip. In its modified form it still retained its tracking ability, but in a different way. When Shirou would fire Hrunting it would continue to pursue whoever he had targeted unless he refocused on another target. This allowed him to use it as a broken phantasm that couldn't miss. Minimizing errors, making it a favorite of the Counter-Guardian and himself.

Shirou didn't stop at just the one but traced several more.

"Fly true, Hrunting!"

Notching the modified arrow back, Shirou released them in quick succession! The effects were immediate, their forming giving away to crimson bullets speeding towards the mad servant.

"▂▃▃▅▅▇▇!" Berserker bellowed. He slashed at the oncoming weapons, knocking each of them away. Had it been any other Broken Phantasm they would have simply exploded on contact, but not Hrunting.

It would not be denied it prey!

As if sentient, the scarlet projectiles altered their trajectories and headed back towards Berserker, now from the multiple directions they had be thrown.

Like its namesake the attack was unrelenting in its hunt, like a beast that caught the sent of blood. Berserker roared and met the challenge, swinging wildly to deflect however many he could.

But it wasn't just Hrunting that the servant had to contend with.

"[Storm of Arrows]"

A barrage of explosive light arrows rained down on it from another direction. The arrows were far weaker than Hrunting, but they served as an excellent distraction. As Berserker turned towards the new threat Hrunting struck, biting into the iron flesh. They exploded causing a chain reaction of massive proportions. Bursting from the smoke appeared Berserker, seemingly no worse for wear save for some regenerating burn marks where Hrunting had struck.

"▃▃▆▂▂▆▇▇▉!" In an instant Berserker leapt through the air, straight towards Shirou.

"Hey Ugly! Don't forget about me!" Peroroncino taunted. "[Furious Maelstrom]!" From his bow fired hundreds of tiny but rapid arrows of light. Being in the air, Berserker was unable to counter or dodge and was knocked from the sky, face first into a crystal pillar.

Without hesitating Shirou traced several more copies of Hrunting and repeated his attack before Berserker could regain his footing. Striking true and watching as the explosive chain reaction occurred again destroying the crystal where Berserker had landed and sending it to the floor, burying him momentarily under the remains. But it wouldn't last, in less than five seconds Berserker broke free of the pile only to see another incoming bombardment of light arrows and broken phantasms.

From a different point of view, it could be considered a rather comical sight. Berserker breaking through the rubble like a mole only to come face to face with what one could only describe as barrage of missiles. The opening salvo of arrows and projectiles laying waste to the area. The barrage continued but the resulting explosion and smoke made it, difficult to determine the result.

'So far so good.' Shirou idly thought as he notched back an arrow. During that time Shirou switched back to tracing regular arrows to conserve his reserve of prana.

The fighting for all intensive purpose was coming along nicely if albeit slowly. Boss battle and raids were often time consuming, ranging anywhere from half an hour to even an hour or beyond if it came down to it. They needed to find a way to end this quickly.

'But how?' That was the question Shirou needed to answer.

Shirou himself wasn't at peak capacity either. Already he's traced dozens of weapons of varying qualities. A quick Structural Analysis showed that he used up more of his prana than original predicted. MP regen potion will help out and he made sure not to go overboard but there's only so much they can do before hitting a road block.

Slowly doubt clawed its way into his mind.

What if his Noble Phantasms wouldn't be enough?

What if Berserker's future lives will be too much for the party to handle?

What of Berserker's Madness Enchantment?

That last thought was perhaps the most prevalent. He still couldn't shake that foreboding feeling that he felt at the beginning of the battle. There was more to this fight. The question was, just how much more was there to this fight?

"Focus Shirou!" He quietly reprimanded himself. Losing focus and asking what ifs wasn't going to help anyone in the slightest. Focus on the matter at hand and one step at a time.

Returning back to the battle Shirou noted that only a few minutes have passed and they've yet to hear anything from Berserker. Whether that was beneficial was up for debate.

Without any warning a large boulder flew out of the smoke, heading towards the avian heteromorph.

"[Wild Flare]!" Peroroncino called out as he fired a charged-up bolt of energy at the incoming mass, breaking it into pieces. From the smoke, out came Berserker who had used the boulder as a diversion!

"The hell?!" He exclaimed before taking a straight punch to the face. Sending him flying to the ground with a crash and forming a small crater. His HP dropping into the red.

"Peroroncino-san!" Shirou cried out, worried for his friend and angry he hadn't predicted the servant. He let loose a flurry of arrows after the descending giant only they proved ineffective as Berserker simply swatted them out of the air. Landing crudely on the ground, Berserker charged at the downed player. And Berserker would have executed him, were it not for Bukubukchamaga's timely save.

"[Draw Hate]!"

"Jeez! Otouto, not even five minutes without our help and you're already almost dead." The elder slime playful scolded her younger brother.

"Hahaha~ Sorry."

"EMIYA-san! We'll take it from here Do what you have to!" Touch Me called out.

He didn't need to be told twice.

Relaxing his stance Shirou held out an open palm.

"Trace on!" Prana once again flooded his magic circuits. Slowly a sword took shape within his palm.

No. That wasn't entirely correct. To call it a sword would be a misnomer. Unlike most swords Shirou had traced this one appeared unique with its blade twisted and coiling to a fine point, more resembling a drill than a sword. And that was before Shirou infused it with his prana and modified it.

 **[Caladbolg II: The Fake Spiral Sword – Divine Tier Weapon]**

Caladbolg II was the modified and bastardized form of the original Caladbolg stored within Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works. A weapon created of Archer's own design later adapted by Shirou.

The original Rainbow Spiral Sword belonged to the Irish hero Fergus mac Róich, father figure and rival to the wielder of Gáe Bolg, the Irish Hero Cú Chulainn. It had been said that Fergus could lay waste to entire landmasses with a single swing of the spiral sword.

Caladbolg II was different from its predecessor, first, Archer and eventually Shirou, used it solely as an arrow rather than a blade. And this was due to a special aspect of the weapon that made it so effective.

" **My core is…"** Shirou chanted. Prana flowed freely from Shirou and into Caladbolg II turning it into what amounted to a miniaturized nuclear warhead. Concentrated mana condensed at the tip with streaks of pure red prana leaked out, flowing around Shirou. " **…Twisted in Madness…"**

Berserker, sensing its impending doom again turned his attention towards the greater threat. The rest of the party held him down for as long as they could, but Berserker cared little for them and with reckless abandonment charged at the archer.

"▂▃▃▃▅▅▋!" With a powerful leap Berserker rushed towards Shirou faster than before, too bad it was far too late.

" **[Caladbolg II]!** " Mere meters away from one another Shirou released the arrow. The crystal pillar beneath him cracked from the explosive release of his attack. Reaching only what Shirou would describe as godspeed the spiral sword flew at the inbound boss.

In a move no one saw coming Berserker twisted its upper body, dropped its own weapon and somehow **caught** the spiraling blade with his hands. The momentum still carried through, piercing his chest to a degree but only enough to push the boss backwards. Its feet digging into the floor, creating indentions as Berserker attempted to fight to hold the attack at bay, and failed.

The sound of steel scrapping against iron flesh echoed throughout the cavern.

"▂▂▂▃▃▅▅▃▃▁▅▆▆▆!" Berserker shouted in challenge, as he struggled to hold back the attack that had already begun to pierce his chest. For a brief moment, Shirou was worried that Berserker could manage to stop it.

In the end Caladbolg won out. When released the spiraling blade rotates, generating its own field using the prana it gathered. A perpetual motion that speeds it up which only further adds to its piercing strength. The attack is so powerful that it can penetrate any defenses by the twisting of the space around it like the drill shape it was modified from.

Berserker was no exception.

The spinning blade shredded his hands making them slick with blood forcing his grip to give way. Caladbolg II continued forward on its path piercing through Berserker. A fraction of a second later the Broken Phantasm detonated. Raw prana reacting and exploding.

The surrounding area was reduced to molten rock, the area around Berserker seeming to be vaporized. At ground zero in the resulting crater was Berserker, his entire left side from the waist up to his collarbone was gone.

 **Status – God Hand: [6]**

Seeing the numbers Shirou couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. He has hoped that the attack would take out at least two of Berserker's lives, but understood that his unprecedented catch had diminished the amount of power in the attack severely.

Still they were making good progress.

All they need to do now was…

 ** _'Ba-dum'_**

What was that?

 ** _'Ba-dum'_**

A heartbeat.

"Anyone else hear that?" Tabula asked?

So, it wasn't just him imagining it.

 ** _'Ba-dum'_**

There it was again. By the sound of it, it was coming from…Berserker.

Berserker's body began mending itself but this time something changed. Its body glowed in a sense. Underneath its darkened skin a red glow emitted and spread across its body. Black haze sprung forth the wound, forming itself into the missing body parts faster than simple regeneration. The haze persisted, shrouding the Servants body in a cloak of black wisps. To make it even creepier Shirou could make out skull like motifs forming within the blanket of black wisps. Two crimson orbs stared back at them filled with Madness.

"Everyone scatter!" Touch Me warned. The rest of the party separated, with Peroroncino taking to the skies once again.

"▂▂▂▃▂▃▃▅▅▅▇▅▇▇▇!" Berserker let out its most inhuman roar to date. Without any preamble Berserker jumped after the avian heteromorph. Performing a last second maneuver Berserker soared passed Peroroncino and crashed into the ceiling.

"Hah! That's the best you got?!" Peroroncino mocked.

Berserker responded by pushing off the ceiling, dive bombing the player barely a second after hitting the ceiling. Caught off guard Peroroncino was struck hard, his HP hitting zero in an instant, his body shattering as he died just like Amanomahitotsu, as Berserker crashed back down to the ground.

"Otouto!" Bukubukchagama cried out. Her mourning was cut short as Berserker swiftly recovered its weapon and turned his attention to the pink slime.

"Fire!" Shirou let loose a shower of prana infused arrows.

Its movement was now erratic, a wild frenzy lacking any sense of coordination. It didn't bother attempting to counter Shirou's rain of arrows and just continued its charge forward showing how little the attack mattered. It's HP only reinforcing the idea as it didn't budge an inch.

"[Maximum Fortitude], [Defense Matrix]!" With no other options, Bukubukchagama braced herself. Berserker attacked with a ferocity and fervor unseen until now. A multitude of blows rained down on her, each one as wild as the next. Finishing its wild flurry, the servant smacked her with the side of its weapon like one would a baseball, sending her skidding across the ground. Her HP reduced deep into the Yellow.

"Damn it… We're getting clobbered! We need to regroup Touch Me, it's obvious that we've reached some form of second stage!" Ulbert declared. In doing so however, he drew Berserker's attention. Bolting towards the Arch-sage, Ulbert knew that he wouldn't survive. His allies were too far away and none of their attacks, be it Shirou's usual arrows or the others' spells, would slow it down.

"Grrr, fine! I ain't going down without a fight!" When Berserker was within range Ulbert retaliated. "[Maximize magic: Brimstone]!" At the very least his last move could buy them enough time to regroup. A dark crimson magic circle appeared and from it burst out a pillar of pure fire, enveloping the two just as Berserker struck.

"Ulbert-san!" Momonga called out.

"Momonga-san!" Touch me called out to the skeletal spellcaster. "Focus! Do not let Ulbert-san death be for not! We need to regroup now!"

The pillar of flames died down and from it walked Berserker without a scratch on him. But that didn't worry Shirou. No, what worried him was the new status on Berserker, one that the magus has been dreading the entire fight.

 **Berserker: Lvl – 250**

 **Status – God Hand: [6]**

 **[Madness Enchantment Activated]**

The fight was far from over.

* * *

 **Omake: A Secondary Transformation**

"▂▃▃▂▃▂▃▃▅▅▆▆▆▅▇▅▇▇▇!" Berserker roared to the heavens, its body started to convulse.

"Everyone be careful! We don't what's going to happen so be on your absolute guard!"

The party mentally and physically braced themselves.

What they didn't expect was for a cute little voice to call out from somewhere.

"Berserker transforms!"

Berserker did just that. It tucked its arms and legs and somehow transformed before their very eyes. Its new form was very cartoonish in appearance. Appearing to be some vehicle, a tank if the massive cannon sprouting from the mouth was an indication with Berserker's entire face taking up all of the front.

Not only did its appearance change but also its name!

 **Berser-Car : Lvl – 250 Alt Mode**

If that wasn't bizarre enough something or rather someone popped up from the driver seat. A tiny little girl dressed in brilliant purple clothes.

Shirou nearly choked on his breath seeing just who was riding the newly named Berser-Car. "I-Illya!?"

Much like the Berser-Car she too was modeled in the same cartoonish and cutesy fashion. A haughty and proud expression on her face.

"Now, you are all my new toys! Try not to break, would you? BERSER-CAR! GOOO!" Illya shouted, shooting her fist into the air.

Berser-Car rumbled as it took off, a head on collision with the group. If that wasn't bad enough cannon fire began bombarding the area, exploding everything around them.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Dance for me!" Illya cheered all to happily.

"Damn it! Someone take out that crazy loli!"

"Berser-Car get him!" Illya ordered.

The eye socket of Berserker glowed red and from them beams of red light shot towards Peroroncino.

"Wait…Does that thing have laser eyes?! Blahhghhghhg—" Peroroncino let out only what Shirou could assume to be a pathetic dying gurgle. The laser hit him and reducing his HP to zero.

"PERORONCINO-SAN!" Touch Me dramatically cried out for the fallen player, his arms outstretched. Collapsing to his knees in a dramatic fashion Touch Me began to…cry?

Wait. YGGDRASIL doesn't support any facial animation!

"Otouto! He was taken from us too soon!" The pink slime elder sister added. She too began to weep. Droplets of pink slime rolling down her gelatinous body.

Was it just him but did that line sound super cliché?

Even Momonga got sucked into it. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT! We shall avenge him!" Shaking his bony fist in righteous anger.

"Muahahahaha! I would like to see you try!" Illya declared from her seat on top of Berser-Car.

While all of this was going on. Only one thought occupied Shirou's mind.

Who the hell thought of something like this?!

 _ **Meanwhile at Kaleidoscope HQ**_

"Umm, sir?" The same employee from last time appeared, asked.

"Hmm?" Zelretch, whom was lazily slouching in his chair in his office, looked away from his computer screen to address the employee. "Jacob? I thought the author got rid of you in that last bit? Hmm, guess not. What is it Daniel?"

"Sir, I have no idea what in the world you are talking about. Who's this author you're speaking of? And, that's the twenty-fifth time you've called me by the wrong name!"

"You've been keeping count? You must be a real riot at parties Johnson." Zelretch snarked.

The employee's eyebrow twitched in irritation. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to move on lest he does something he might regret.

"We've finished programming the Berserker boss fight as you asked sir. Although I do have some question regarding some last-minute changes." Pulling up his tablet he showed Berserker's stat screen. "As you requested, during the boss second stage it will…turn into a car/tank hybrid." The question and skepticism was clear in the programmer's voice. "And…" A sigh escaped the programmer's lip. "A little death loli will appear driving the boss that will constantly hurl insults at the player…"

Zelretch, through his entire conversation remained stoic, never reacting to the deadpanned and incredulous look his employee gave him. He simply nodded as if everything was right in the world. "Everything sounds in order."

"Sir, with all due respect but where in the hell did you come up with this idea?" The employee had to ask.

"Ohhh, you know…places." Unseen by the programmer on Zelretch's computer screen was an anime streaming website. This particular anime that Zelretch was watching went by the name of **Carnival Phantasm**. "Anything else?"

"No… I simply wish inform you on it, sir as you requested."

"Good. Good, keep up the fine work Robert."

Sir my name is… Forget it." Exasperated the employee walked out, leaving the vampiric CEO to his lonesome.

"I wonder what got Mike so worked up? Oh well." Zelretch shrugged. "Now that's out of the way, where was I? Ah, right." Hitting a key on his keyboard he un-paused the screen. A catchy and upbeat tune began to play. Zelretch happily bobbed his head along with the tune, softly humming the theme song.

* * *

 **Total Word Count: 12,515**

 **Author's note:**

 **Ahh, Carnival Phantasm. THE official Type-Moon abridge series of their works, and there's nothing nobody can say to convince me otherwise! For those curious Zelretch was humming the OP of the anime. Seriously that thing is so catchy! I wished they would make another season, but one can hope. It's so funny too as the regular fate verse is dark and depressing and in this one its all sun shine and happiness!**

 **Special thanks to Dante for helping with the inspiration for the omake! I'm still looking for ideas so if you all have any funny ideas or scenarios do comment on them and I'll try and incorporate it and credit you.**

 **Anyho, onto some questions and my thoughts on the chapter!**

 **1\. The original idea was to have the entire Berserker fight in this chapter alone. The first iteration was far too short, not length but execution. The methods used to beat each life of God Hand lacked the flow and narrative that I wanted. It felt rushed. Second time wasn't all that better, thanks to my helpful betas and their advice's I reworked the various kill methods to allow for a better escalation and narrative flow with the fight. The original layout and plan for the chapter was the battle with Berserker, the clan learning of Shirou's secret and something else near the end. When actually writing it out the length of the chapter exceeded my original expectation.** **In the end, the chapter was just too long so I decided to split it up as to not tax myself. Hence why we had only the first half of the battle here. Which is already an impressive length at over 12k words.**

 **Hopefully you all enjoyed it.**

 **2\. Unlimited Blade Works: There'll probably be some that are** **disappointed with this chapter. Some might question why don't I simply use Unlimited Blade Works, the reality marble against Berserker. Two reasons, the most prominent being I wanted to save it for a future chapter and one with a lot more impact and stakes. Secondly, I wanted to expand on what I established in the earlier chapter regarding the changes and improvements made to Unlimited Blade Work as a whole. This helps me write the story where there is a sense of progression in each of the fights, allowing me to go bigger and bigger with each one. Not to mention, starting off a fight using your strongest technique does make sense realistically but it does throw the narrative a bit out of wack if everything can be solved by using your trump card every single time. Hopeful there aren't many of you that too disappointed but it would be understandable.**

 **3\. Touch Me: This may surprise some people but Touch Me is actually one of my favorite character in Overlord. I've always have a soft spot for righteous and noble characters that do good for the sake of doing it. While we don't much about him save for his character and personality what is there is captivating enough and has a lasting impact in the Overlord canon. Some might question the legitimacy of how someone like him is standing up to a powerful boss level character, and a servant no less. The purpose of the scene was indeed my way of having some fan service towards the character.**

 **Another reason was to enforce Touch Me's character in a way. Going back to what I said, we know only so much about his character, one of which was brought up numerous times throughout the Overlord novels was him being a World Champion, one of the BEST players in the entire game, whether it be PVP or PVE. The novel say he's the best but we were never given any real concrete evidence besides a comparison to Momonga and the like. I wanted to run with that idea, that Touch Me is this badass player that could take on just about anything. Hence the scene with Touch Me near soloing Berserker. That, and I do want to put certain things into perspective for an upcoming chapter in regards to the World Champion idea later on.**

 **4\. Something I do wish to address would have to be the upload schedule from now on. Previously I would finish up the chapter and have it published with a week span of one another. Now with some extra hands on board, the upload schedule has changed a bit to help accommodate for my beta and friends schedule and whatnot. Basically, it make take a while for a new chapter to be pumped out. Anywhere from a week and a half to maybe two depending on our schedule and availability.** **This PURELY speculation and anything can happen, but that does seem to be the plan for the moment.**

 **With that all said and done, do tell me what you think of the chapter. Certainly a lot more action packed compared to the previous chapters. And don't forget to leave a review with your** **th** **oughts on the chapter. The last one blew my expectation out of the water and helped fueled me to pump this chapter out as fast as I could. Was it Good? Did it lacked in some area? Each comment and concern help not only us but also encourages me to try better.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**

 **Next Chapter: Nines Own Goal vs Berserker Pt.2**


	5. Nines Own Goal vs Berserker II-Revised

I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.

 **Surprise! I'm not dead! Bring out the party poppers and streamers! Woooo-Hooooo!**

 **On a more serious note, yes I am back from a, wow a four month hiatus. But hey, as the saying goes better late than never.**

 **The lack of upload and writing was contributed to a combination of things. Classes started up near the last upload so I was pushing for that instead of my writing, going on in my personal life, and and the bane of every writer, procrastination. I finally got my butt in gear and managed to pump this rewrite out thankfully. The purpose so the rewrite was I wasn't satisfied with how the second half of the original chapter 4, namely the scene where Shirou was explaining his "backstory."**

 **As some reviewers pointed out, it was more of run and done kind of deal that on second viewing is quite vapid and hollow when it should be an intense moment for the character and the story going onward. It was literally a few paragraph that basically boils down to "Hey I'm saying this, and I'm your friend. So please believe my rather B.S explanation." Which wasn't my intention and so I wanted to take a crack at it once again.**

 **Special thanks to LucidityRebellion for helping and providing the foundation and ideas for the main themes and ideas for the rewrite present in the chapter.**

 **Note, most of the chapter remained the same namely the Berserker fight having no changes besides the occasional word choices here and there. The main bulk and point of interest is the second half of the chapter after the fight so you can just skip to it there if that's all you're interested in.**

 **Thank you to Cloud Link Zero and Dante Evans for their help and betaing the chapter.**

 **Beta'd: Cloud Link Zero and Dante Evans**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Nines Own Goal vs Berserker Part II - Revised**

"▅▅▇▇▅▃▇!" Berserker roared, dashing forward towards Momonga, whom was still on his way to regroup with the others.

"[Reinforcement]!" Quickly charging forward, Shirou intercepted Berserker. "Go Momonga-san!" Kanshou and Bakuya danced in his hands as Shirou attacked and defended with them against Berserker's rage. However, the magus severely underestimated just how much more powerful the servant became. Each strike attacking with terrifying force. Unable to take the punishment Kanshou and Bakuya cracked and broke under the assault.

"Damn!" He was ready to trace another copy until something appeared, stopping the servant from going any further.

"[Thousand Tomb Prison]" A barrier spell curtesy of Tabula erected itself around the servant, cutting off any and all escape route and trapping it there for the time being. A continuous use spell that gradually drains the players MP for every second used depending on the time and quality.

"Hurry up EMIYA-san! I can't hold it down forever!" Tabula forewarned.

Regrouping with what remained of the party a rather startling question came to him. "Was this Berserker's true strength?"

During the Grail War servants relied on their master's to provide the needed prana and essence in order to keep them chain to the world. A rather daunting task as two factors seek to impede this. The first being the master itself and how much prana they could provide. The second was Gaia, the literal embodiment of the Earth's will, who would constantly be trying to erase them. Hence why it wasn't uncommon for magus's and others to seek out methods of collecting more prana in order to boost their servant's strength.

The servants summoned from the Throne of Heroes were not whole per say. It was more accurate to say that the summoning ritual pulled a copy of the servant into the physical world. As such there were sometimes inconsistencies when forcing the copy into the class containers, causing Servants to be weakened or lacking in some areas compared to their original selves.

An obvious example was Saber and her incomplete summoning that prevented her from taking an astral form.

This wasn't the case with Berserker in front of them. This Berserker wasn't pulled from the Throne of Heroes as far as Shirou was concern. Nor, was Gaia exerting her force onto it to try and remove the anomaly. It was its own entity that was operating at peak condition and performance. No restrictions or limitations.

It snarled at the slightest thing, snapping its jaws dangerously. The warrior-like persona and instinct it showed previously was gone replaced with full on madness. Shirou wagered that unlike his sister's black giant from the war, this Berserker was no different from a beast loose from its cage.

"To think the boss's second form would be this powerful…" Momonga muttered.

"It is an End Boss, even with all of our abilities combined it doesn't surprise me that we're failing. We would've needed a Legion at best to defeat this one." Said Tabula, sounding awfully resigned.

"Stow your fears my friends! We're not out of it just yet. EMIYA-san, your plan, will it still work?" asked the Touch Me.

"…Honestly? I would say we have a 50-50 chance." Answered Shirou.

"That's better than nothing." Bukubukchagama coolly replied.

"We've made it this far. No point in calling it quits now!" Yamaiko voiced, knocking her gauntlet together.

"EMIYA-san, we have followed your lead and it has yet to lead us astray. It's clear now that the boss in front of us is wholly different from the one earlier. What shall we do?" said Touch Me

The rest of the party turned as one towards Shirou. A quick glance showed the barrier holding back Berserker was already cracking and wasn't going to last much longer. They were depending on him and he needed to make a decision.

"With the exception of Touch Me-san to a certain extent, Berserker would destroy anyone else. Everyone needs to stay back."

"Surely there has to be something the rest of us can do?" Momonga stated. To leave everything up to him while they sat in the back. That left a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn't alone in that thought as the others voiced a few objections.

"What can you do?" Shirou returned, there was no accusation in his voice. "Berserker's secondary stage is far stronger, faster, and unpredictable. Even Bukubukchagama-san, with a full tank build, nearly fell to its onslaught. That's not to mention your still recovering MP reserve and its high magical resistance." He argued.

"While that is indeed true EMIYA-san, we cannot in good conscious let you go at this alone. The only chance we have at defeating his foe is you. Should you fall we'll have no hope at winning. At the very least, we can serve as a distraction if need be." Touch Me countered.

"…Very well but do take great care. One slip up can easily lead to your deaths as well. Intervene if it looks like I won't make it. Other than that, leave it to me." Shirou compromised.

The rest nodded in agreement.

"Trace on!"

Two swords appeared in each of his hand. The sword in his left hand was rather simplistic, having only a muted golden hilt and cross guard that attached to a fair and symmetrical double-edge blade. The one in his right was radically different. Thicker compared to the other. The end of the blade ends with a diagonal line. The two swords were aesthetically different but were in fact one in the same.

 **[Ascalon: The Blessed Sword by Which Force is Slain – Divine Tier Sword]**

A holy blade whom has a fearsome reputation for being a dragon killing sword. The weapon belonged to the hero Saint George. A holy man, knight and saint of the Catholic Church. Ascalon served him well, possessing a similar ability to Durandal. Unlike Durandal it possesses invincibility but not from attacking but rather defending. Capable to repelling all manner of harmful or demonic forces. One of its greater aspect was its ability of reversal, reversing its protective power into an offensive one.

Over the years Shirou expanded his repertoire, dual wielding was one of the few he expanded upon besides solely relying on Kanshou and Bakuya.

With one final attack Berserker broke free of the barrier. As expected, the mad servant charged in order to exact its revenge.

"[Reinforcement]!" Prana filled his magic circuits, activating the artificial nerves causing them to all glow. Streaks of light neon green lines appeared on his body, heavily concentrated on his arms and legs with interconnecting streaks flowing from his body.

Slamming his foot onto the pavement, like a gun cocked and ready Shirou shot forward. The servant and magus met, an explosion of force detonated from their weapons making contact.

Their dance of death resumed.

As their weapons clashed once again, an odd sense of calm washed over him. When was the last time Shirou felt such a rush?

Adrenaline pumping through his veins.

The vibration of his arms after each swing and block.

His muscle tensing and contracting, bracing for every hit thrown.

The distant beating of his heart echoing clear in his ear.

Every fiber of his being coursing with intent. Where one simple mistake was all it would take to lead him to death.

All of his senses heightened and fine-tuned. His only objective was in front of him, to emerge victorious.

Slowly Shirou lost himself in the rhythm, his friends' presences were pushed back into the back of his head. Only one thing mattered and that was defeating Berserker!

 _'clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.'_

The sound of steel ringing across the battlefield.

Steel met steel. Each swing striking with impossible force.

To the on lookers Shirou formed blurred, and for one certain skeletal necromancer it reminded him of a memory of when he first met the silver haired magus. Each were stunned at the displayed in front of them.

None more stunned than Touch Me. The insectoid paladin watched everything with a critical eye, his years of experience catching every little detail within the fight.

If someone had asked Touch Me, he would have described the scene in front of him to be a storm of steel. Shirou's every move a blur, and yet, it all seemed like an elaborate dance. Each sword striking with a speed, precision, and power rivaling that of the berserk boss, yet flowing like they were practiced steps on a stage. He never once stopped for even a split second, always nimble on his toes and even occasionally performing acrobatic feats like jumping its attack or leaping onto the boss itself if the situation called for it.

Warrior-type player rely heavily on muscle movement and memory. Any movement or action that the physical body can perform can be recreated and enhanced through YGGDRASIL's system. It was why players can leap and jump beyond what would be realistically possible. As a veteran Touch Me was capable of some impressive feats himself.

However, what he saw Shirou perform blew everything out of the water for him. Even taking in suspension of disbelief regarding the rules of the game it should be near impossible to react and move as he did. The reaction time needed to analyze the incoming attack, the mind processing said information, and the time needed to perform said action had to be done in mere fraction of a seconds. Every movement, every turn and shift in posture was careful measured and calculated and then executed.

Not even he could manage to perform even a third of what Shirou was showing. What made it all the more frightening was that Shirou never once used a class skill.

That meant Shirou was doing this all without any assistance from YGGDRASIL mainframe.

Touch Me griped his weapons all the more tighter. Were it possible, Touch Me's face would form a wry but excited grin as a thought passed through his mind, "Just how powerful are you EMIYA-san?"

Back with Shirou:

Angling his head Shirou narrowly avoided Berserker's axe-sword decapitating him. Using the momentum, he slashed upwards diagonally with Ascalon. The holy blade cutting deep within the servant's skin but unlike before Berserker showed no sign of pain or recognition.

'I wonder…'

Throughout their short confrontation Shirou picked up on a few interesting elements. For one it seems Berserker has been weakened in a sense. It was still incredibly tough, but it seemed more susceptible to damage than before as Shirou's light slashes and jab have done more damaged than compared to before. Not to mention its sense of self preservation seemed to have dropped as it rarely blocks or dodge, choosing to tank each one of his attack. Opting to beat him into the ground instead. Still, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Their little song and dance continued with Shirou narrowly avoid death by a hair's breadth. Just a few more hits in…

Berserker went for an overhead strike, his weapon descending quickly. Caught out in a difficult position Shirou was forced to block instead of dodging. Bringing the two Ascalon together guarding in an X-pattern, he braced himself. The servant's weapon struck hard, nearly forcing Shirou to a knee. Gritting his teeth Shirou held the attack at bay, but before he could respond Berserker acted.

Berserker then let go of his weapon completely. Bringing both hands together Shirou was unable to defend at what happened next.

A thunderclap.

His hands slapped one another with the force of thunderstorm, generating a powerful sound and shockwave literally in front of Shirou's face.

"Aggghhh!" Shirou screamed. The concussive force deafening him and disrupting his equilibrium. Unable to protect himself Berserker punched Shirou right in the face and sending him skidding across the floor.

"EMIYA-san!" The group shouted. Touch Me and Bukubukchagama immediately charged in, in order take some of the aggro away from the boss.

With enemies moving to get in between it and its prey, Berserker forgo its weapon in favor of dashing quickly to finish off its target.

"[Steady Breath], [Ebony Skin], [Towering Force]!" Bukubukchagama buffed herself in preparation. However, Berserker ignored her entirely, opting to jump over the pink slime than engage her. "What the…!"

Touch Me appeared directly in the path of its charge, forcing an engagement. Berserker swung a fist at Touch Me as he held up his silver shield.

The knock back was strong but Touch Me held through.

"[Holy Erase]!" His sword shinning with the skill Touch Me swung the blade.

Yet again Berserker surprised them all when at the last possible second it arched its body backwards, allowing the attack to sail harmless pass him. In a feat of acrobatic fitness Berserker twisted his entire body resulting in it landing vertical inverse. In a one-handed hand stand he lashed out with his legs. His leg strikes with surprising maneuverability, force and speed.

"Uugggghhhaaa!" Unprepared, Touch Me took the brunt of the attack and landed straight on his back

With no longer any distractions in its path, Berserker could resume its hunt. Turning, it came face to face with an enraged Shirou. During the small interval when Berserker dealt with Touch Me, Shirou had recovered enough to stand and use [Reinforcement].

"Rarr!" Shirou attacked, Ascalon blurring they struck and cleaved into the mad servant. Staggering the boss back Shirou sought to finish the fight once and for all. Ascalon glowed, a myriad of colors flowed from the weapon.

 **"Activate! [Abyssus Draconis]!"**

 **[Abyssus Draconis: Thou Shalt a Serpent Become]**. An interesting Noble Phantasm. A Noble Phantasm that was a skill once used by Saint George himself but was later granted upon Ascalon as well. The ability works by seeking out a target and determining if they are good or evil. If determined evil it transfigures the target, granting them the attribute of draconian being. Thus, granting an additional weakness to dragon slayer swords such as Ascalon, or one more powerful such weapon in his arsenal, Balmung.

A rather unorthodox method of gaining an advantage, but just the one needed for a situation like this.

Stabbing the sword into Berserker a circular crimson dragon motif appeared. It spun and glowed brighter, crimson pattern soon spread across Berserker's dark ashened skin signaling that the Noble Phantasm work.

God Hand was indeed terrifying with its ability of individual invulnerability but certain status aligning abilities and non-damaging abilities could easily bypass it if Berserker's magic resistance didn't stop them. Hence what had just happened.

The first condition was fulfilled. Now, he needed to…

Berserker put a stop to that thought when it brought his arms together and pulled Shirou in a bone crushing bearhug! Shirou struggled to free himself but felt as if his entire torso and arms were being compressed. It held him in a vice grip, leaving no way for the magus to escape.

Were his body still flesh and bone he was sure Berserker would have destroyed his entire vertebrae.

Didn't help that his HP was slowly ticking down.

"EMIYA-san!" Touch Me and Bukubukchagama rushed to aid him but found the task of freeing him more difficult than imagined. Berserker would not let go, no matter what the two threw at the servant. It recognized Shirou was a greater threat than either of them.

Shirou didn't think even a few dozen projected weapons boosted to be Broken Phantasm would be enough to make Berserker let go. That, and he would most likely be caught in the splash zone of the explosion.

However, a different solution presented itself.

"[Alter Magic - Switch]!"

Feeling a sense vertigo taking over Shirou blinked. One second, he was pinned, the next he was standing a fair distance away, staring at Berserker with Tabula in its hold instead of Shirou.

"Go! I'll hold him down!" shouted Tabula. "[Cosmic Chain Prison]!" Ethereal like chains shot from the ground, binding Berserker and by extension Tabula as well. Recognizing Tabula's sacrifice Shirou steeled himself for what's to come.

"Trace on!"

The swords of Ascalon disappeared into motes of light, replaced with a great sword in its place. A crafted two-handed great sword appeared. A stylish cross themed black and silver cross-guard with a pure silver blade. Embedded within the hilt of the weapon was an equally beautiful azure jewel.

 **[Balmung: Phantasmal Greatsword, Felling of the Sky Demon – Divine Tier Sword]**

A cursed holy sword, a paradox if there ever was one, belonging to the famed knight of myth and legend Siegfried. This Noble Phantasm in addition to possessing power rivaling that even Gram and Durandal also had an attribute for dragon slaying. According to the myth of Siegfried Balmung was the weapon used to kill the dragon Fafnir, bathing in its blood that attributed it its dragon slaying properties. An anti-army Noble Phantasm and perhaps one of Shirou's strongest Noble Phantasm within his Unlimited Blade Works.

With Berserker now possessing attributes of a dragon weapons like Balmung recognize it as such and increases its rank.

"O sword, let thee be filled." He chanted, holding the sword upright in his face. Twisting the hilt of Balmung, Shirou poured a massive amount of prana into the legendary sword. From that the jewel glowed, an explosive release of light and energy. A twilight aura emanated from the sword, surrounding Shirou in a luminousness glow. Raising it above his head a beam of pure and uncontrolled energy shot forth from the weapon, bathing the entire cavern in light. At the center of it all was Shirou who held it aloft.

"Everyone move!" Tabula shouted to the World Champion and slime. Leaving their friend to his fate Tabula strengthen the bindings as Berserker struggled increased with the activation of Balmung. "Go EMIYA-san!"

"Rarrrhg! **Bal-MUNG!** " Shirou swung the blade. Slow in descent the blade of pure prana struck the immobile Berserker. Striking with all its power, only a faint silhouette of the two could be made out within the white light. An explosion rocked the area, changing the landscape once again, the ground cracking and breaking under the might force of the Noble Phantasm.

Coming to an end, the entire ground was nearly cleaved in half with a massive scar like gorge where Shirou had struck.

Tabula was nowhere to be seen, but both knew he wouldn't make it out of such an attack. The same couldn't be said about Berserker as its body survived the ordeal. Thankfully they were still able to take down its 7th life.

 **Status – God Hand: [5]**

 **'Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum'**

They won, but at a devastating cost. Now they were down to simply Himself, Touch Me, Bukubukchagama, Yamaiko, and their only mage Momonga. And they still have five more lives to get through.

The sound of heart beats didn't escape Shirou's notice. It came from Berserker, and it was exactly the same sound and beat as before. Before it entered it Madness Enchantment state.

Was there any meaning behind it?

Too bad Shirou couldn't ponder on it any further as Berserker got its second wind.

"Yamaiko-san! Momonga-san! Boost me however many enchantments and buffs you can!" Shirou instructed. "The rest of you, stay back! I've got this!"

"Understood!"

"Roger!"

"[Greater Boost Regeneration], [Greater Boost Stamina], [Stone Skin], [Heavy Ordinance], [Lightweight], [Field Force], [Increase Speed], [Boost Sharpness]."

"Trace on!" His magic circuits flared to life, this time however they burned. He felt as if a fire was a lit underneath his skin and in his vein. Shirou winced when he felt his circuits burned and strained themselves. This was an old feeling, and one that he honestly forgotten in his old age. For perhaps the first time since living in YGGDRASIL he's now feeling the straining of his circuits to the absolute limit.

"Just hold out for a bit longer…" Powering through the pain he traced two weapons in his hands.

The first a golden sword with a golden circular-cross like design for the cross-guard of the weapon. The weapon was stunning to look at, reminding very much of the likes of Caliburn or Excalibur with its blue, silver, and golden colour scheme.

 **[Crocea Mors: Yellow Death – Divine Tier Sword]**

The famed weapon belonging to one Gaius Julius Caesar, a historic roman general and famed emperor of Rome. Much like Excalibur it was said by Caesar that when drawn victory was assumed by the weapon. A powerful weapon in its own right it held a special ability for each successful strike it lands, however it possessed very little history of use as it's wielder was not a swordsman.

Appearing in his second hand was a different sword in its entirely. An ornate silver sword that seemed to dazzle within Shirou's grasp. A simple glance at it showed that it resembled Caliburn in its design with a curved-up guard and wide flat bladed end. Unlike the Caliburn its colour were more saturated with heavy hues of silver, grey and most prominent of all red.

 **[Clarent: Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword – Divine Tier Sword]**

Clarent, or as it was also known by 'The Sword of the Successor.' The weapon was once a treasured sword within the times of Arthurian legend. It was said Clarent was equal to the famed Caliburn, amplifying the authority of the king. The sword acted not only as a powerful weapon but symbol denoting the true right of succession to the kingship. However, the blade was stolen by Mordred when the Betrayer sought the throne himself without King Arthur's blessing resulting in the blade's full power never being realized.

The weapon glowed in recognition within Shirou's hands. Even after all these years it remained a mystery as to why Clarent seems to recognize and perhaps acknowledge the faker whenever he traces it. Perhaps it was his relationship and affinity with Artoria, or another mysterious reason. Whatever the case was the weapon acknowledged him enough to remove some of the limitations it held for Mordred.

Holding both swords aloft Shirou dashed forward to meet Berserker once more. In an unexpected move it dove out of the way of his attack and recovered its weapon.

"▅▂▃▄▄▅▅▅▇▇▇!" Berserker roared and charged towards the recovering silver haired player.

Their weapons clashes once again, the combine force shaking the ground they stood upon.

"[Reinforcement]!" Again, Shirou winced as every circuits within his body activated, pumping burning hot prana through them to reinforcement them and allowing him to keep up with Berserker frenzy.

And so, their dance began anew. Shirou wielded the two swords with amazing fluidity considering both were two-handed swords, using both to attack and defend whenever needed. It should be noted that Shirou swung mostly with Crocea Mors, the golden light-sword being far lighter compared to Clarent, capable of swinging faster and more. But it was just that made Shirou prefer it.

After each successful strike that the Yellow Death lands a small counter appeared on his HUD.

 **[x19]**

"Prana burst!" Prana took the form of crimson lightning as it climbed Clarent's blade. Swinging the sword, the lighting struck the servant with a less than desirable result. Only a slight burn mark blemished the boss's iron skin.

Shirou grimaced. The attack barely looked bother him. An idea rapidly formed in his mind. It was crazy but at this point, they were almost out of opinions. With a new plan in mind Shirou continued.

 **[x30]**

 **[x45]**

 **[x62]**

 **[x77]**

 **[x89]**

Seeing an opening he swung Clarent only for Berserker to block with his weapon. This left it opened up another weak spot. Another opportunity presented itself allowing for Crocea Mors to strike. Berserker responded by grabbing ahold of the blade. Effectively putting the two of them in stalemate.

It wouldn't last for long. Berserker reared its head back.

Shirou was confused but was hit by a realization of its intention.

"[Reinforcement]!" Reinforcing his skull at last possible second.

Berserker headbutted the player with an audible crack. His teeth clattered while his head was spinning. Reinforcement or not, a headbutt from Berserker felt as if hundreds of jackhammers were drilling into his head. The damage he took also reflected the severity of that headbutt.

Dazed, his posture shifted allowing Berserker to end the stalemate.

"▃▂▃▅▅!" Performing what amounted to a spartan kick, Berserker pushed him back.

Shaking away the stars from his vision Shirou clumsily brought up both swords in a X-fashion just in time to block an attack that would have bisected him. He still took a great deal of damage, dropping his HP into the lower yellow.

"EMIYA-san! This is all I have left! [Greater Cure]!" Using the remainder of her MP the Nephilim Spiritualist healed Shirou one lasted time.

"Then it's time to put an end to this!" Breaking away, Shirou jumped back for what's to come next.

Pumping prana into his arms and legs Shirou ignited Clarent and propelled himself forward like a speeding bullet. Using all his strength Shirou thrust Clarent into Berserker, managing to pierce the hardened skin over its stomach.

"Transfer!" Crocea Mors glowed a brilliant golden glow that then transferred from it to Clarent. Crocea Mors ability **[Golden Combo]**. For each successful strike it grants a small damage multiplier that can stack almost indefinitely, increasing the striking power of the next attack. By allowing the multiplier to stack he can consume them all in order to supercharge his next attack. What made it truly fearsome was its ability to transfer said multiplier to any available weapon. In this case, right into Clarents ultimate attack to grant it additional power.

" **Prana Burst**!" The hilt of Clarent opened forth and from the open guard a surge of red lightning mixed with the golden glow before exploding outwards and through Berserker, shooting out of his back. Grasping Clarent with both of his hands Shirou pulled the weapon upwards attempting to cleave out another life. Berserker roared in agony, discarding the axe-sword and grasped Clarent's blade in an attempt to keep the weapon in place. The two struggled for supremacy, both trying to overpower one another. Despite Berserker's superior strength it was Shirou that won out due to his superior position. The continued crackling of Clarent's crimson lighting crisped Berserker's hands and roasted his insides, cleaving through with the smell of burnt flesh permeating the room. A rather gruesome kill as Shirou pulled the sword through from stomach to head, practically bisecting the boss.

Its face twisted with the mouth opened mid scream.

 **Status – God Hand: [4]**

 **'Ba-dum…Ba-dum…Ba-dum.'**

There it was again, the sound of Berserker producing audible heart beats. This time, they were fewer and much more spaced out than before. As if it was on its last breath.

Shirou could feel the numbness and pain spreading from his muscles and nerves. That last stunt took a lot more out of him than expected. He didn't know how much more he can withstand. Dealing with all of Berserker's lives in succession was a ridiculous undertaking, even in the war they were spaced out.

As Shirou pulled away Berserker's hand shot forward and held his arm in a vice grip.

"W-what?!" He exclaimed, facing the previously killed boss. A rather haunting sight, with nearly half of its face cleaved separately, two separate crimson orbs stared back at him filled with madness and hatred.

It was sentient mid regeneration. Something that it hadn't shown possible before. Shirou came to a frightening conclusion, it was getting stronger and it wasn't stopping. Despite practically be split into two Berserker still retained its motor function. With one half holding Shirou in place the second half grasped it axe-sword and attacked all the while the wound stitched itself back together.

His instincts took over once more, taking in and processing all the information and attempting to predict the possible scenarios. With Berserker's positioning and strength advantage over Shirou there was no possible way for him to leave unscathed. So Shirou was forced to take the lesser of two evil.

Clenching his jaw shut with an audible snap and gritting his teeth for what's to come Shirou swung Clarent with all his strength and severed his left arm.

"Aaaahhhh!" Shirou screamed as white-hot pain coursed through his body. It was a strange feeling to say the least. Despite cutting off his entire left arm from finger to elbow Shirou had some control of his removed hand and could even feel from it.

An extreme measure for sure but a necessary one as it allowed Shirou enough time and space to roll away from Berserker's attack.

"E-EMIYA-san!?"

"W-what the hell?!"

"Since when was there a dismemberment feature?!"

His friends all cried out after seeing the brutal display of their friend doing something as crazy as lopping of their own arm.

By this point Berserker was fully revitalized. Throwing away his left arm like a useless rag Berserker charged unimpeded at the still recovering Shirou.

At the same time, however, Shirou found himself at an impasse. He was momentary struck by the disorienting feeling of a missing limb, but that was, in turn, a relieve from the exhaustion. The black spots and hazy edges in his vision threatened to blind him and every fiber of his virtual being screamed in agony. In any other moment, he would have drifted into sweet unconsciousness. Unfortunately, his current situation didn't lend itself to a good night's sleep. Thankfully, the adrenaline coursing through his system gifted him with a moment of clarity. That would more than suffice.

"Trace on!"

The burning sensation of his magic circuits no longer mattered. Motes of light gathered to form the largest weapon he'd summoned to date within the fight.

 **[Nine Lives – Divine Tier Axe-Sword]**

Identical to the weapon Berserker was wielding the two stone weapon smashed against on another, the razor edges grinding against one another. Every bone in his body shook, every muscle fiber ripped asunder as he struggled to hold Berserker back.

"▅▂▃▄▄█▅▃▇▇▆!"

"Rrrraggghhh!"

The two roared, neither party giving up until the other was dead at their feet.

 **[Reinforcement]!**

 **[Alteration]!**

 **[Reinforcement]!**

 **[Alteration]!**

 **[Reinforcement]!**

 **[Alteration]!**

 **[Reinforcement]!**

Reinforcement and Alteration went hand in hand as Shirou poured all the prana he could into his only arm, correctly the broken muscle and mending the snapped muscle fibers.

His blood vessels and the very marrow of his bones imploded. The structure of his body caved in and he found himself completely armless. Or, at least, that should have been the case. Instead, he used the alteration aspect of his magic to hastily reconstruct his only remaining limb into a serviceable condition. Moments before it meets a similar fate to its previous incarnations.

Mutilation plagued every one of Shirou's prana overcharged swings. He continued to inflict grizzly damage with his poor attempts at reinforcement, all for the sake of matching Berserker's insanity fueled blows.

Blow after blow they struck, each one more powerful than the last.

Every attack threatened to destroy his arm but Shirou kept on pushing forward, faster and faster. Despite the size of their weapons both wielded them with amazing dexterity and strength that bordered line on inhuman.

Striking with so much space in such so little time, it was as if Shirou was swinging multiple copies of the weapon instead of just the one. The two were striking with such speed and tenacity it formed a four-meter diameter of open space around them, filled with nothing but their slashes. Their slashes struck all around them, cracks and cuts littered the crystal floor beneath them. A few cuts made it pass both their defenses resulting in both Berserker and Shirou taking noticeable hits.

None of the rest of the party dared come any closer or else they'll be chopped to bits.

While on the surface they appeared evenly match it slowly showed that wasn't the case. Shirou's attacks were starting to slow down. His body staggering after each attack and counter attack. His legs working but shaking, looking like they were about to give way at any time.

After what seemed like the hundredth instance of abuse, he lost feeling in his right extremity. Or whatever it was that had taken its place. The previously unmarred skin now looked as if though the meat had been tenderized and molded into a macabre rendition of an arm.

Black spots began to cloud the magus's vision. He was losing focus, he could feel his conscious slowly slipping away. His eye lids growing wry and heavy. Every part of his body arched and burned. It felt as if a thousand hot needles were pricking his skin and his insides were being roasted.

'I'm not going to make it…' Shirou realized.

As the two weapons clashed Shirou's Nine Lives cracked, unable to hold its form for any longer and broke into motes of light. The force of the attack staggered the faker back.

Time seemingly slowed down allowing him to witness it all. His body in freefall, having reached its limit and completely shut down. Unable to muster any strength to move let along counter attack. Leaving Shirou at the boss's mercy. Berserker's swung down his weapon like a guillotine in preparation of its execution.

What he needed was a miracle—

In his state of deliria everything faded away into darkness. Everything disappeared, Berserker, the cavern, his friends, everything. An ocean of darkness enveloped Shirou and for a moment he feared the worst.

Suddenly a small white light shimmer into existence.

A small glimmer of lighting the way.

A warm beacon within this space of darkness.

It felt warm and familiar, like an old friend.

It only grew brighter, its form slowly becoming recognizable.

Shirou recognized it, how could he not? It was what Kiritsugu Emiya used to save him all those years ago in that in blazing hell. It was what saved him and healed him during the Holy Grail War, to allow him the strength needed to fight. It was what has kept him alive for so long even after the War.

It was **her** first and final gift to him.

"Avalon…" Shirou whispered.

For the briefest of moment Shirou was transported to back to that hill. The once setting sun stood proud up above, illuminating and lighting everything under its ray.

There she stood, dressed as he imagined. In a simple white blouse and blue skirt, she stood facing the false hero. Bright light obscured her face, but even so Shirou could recognize her anywhere.

Her mouth opened, and she spoke one singular word.

 **"Go…"**

—And so forth a miracle arise.

Waking from a dazed-like slumber Shirou shouted. "Like Hell I'm going to lose here!" His heterochromatic eyes glowed, one a burning golden fire the other, an unwavering steel silver.

From within Shirou light exploded forth from his body, encasing the player in a literal halo beam of light. Berserker attack continued forth but was unable to do any more as the barrier of light repelled the attack and knocked the mad servants far back into the upper wall of the cavern.

Within the heavenly and healing glow his body repaired itself at insane speed. His stump growing a new hand in the matter of a second.

Materializing from his body was none other than Avalon.

'Was that where it was this entire time?' Shirou questioned. For the longest time he had wondered what happened to the sheath. Ever since arriving in YGGDRASIL that was one question, he sought out the most. It was no longer within Unlimited Blade Works nor could he summon for it like before.

It was as if it dominant in a way until he absolutely needed it.

He couldn't help but chuckle internally. It was always Avalon that pulls his ass out of the fire every single time. Then again, he certainly wasn't complaining.

The sheath of Excalibur and named The Everdistant Utopia. It was beautiful, a golden sheath with blue enamel. A Noble Phantasm that is one of its kind. Not even Gilgamesh illustrious Gate of Babylon have been graced with its presence. Forged by means of Fae magic and sorcery it is an object of mystery to this very day. More than just a weapon or sheath it was a symbol of dignity and nobility.

 **[Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia – World Class Item]**

 **[Active ability: Upon calling forth the World Item's name Avalon true strength is activated. HP and MP are immediately restored to their fullest. Removes any and all debuffs on the player and quadruple all ability stat of the player for thirty minutes.**

 **HP: 75 (X4) = 300**

 **MP: 85 (X4) = 340**

 **PHY. ATK: 80 (X4) = 320**

 **PHY. DEF: 70 (X4) = 280**

 **Agility: 85 (X4) = 340**

 **MAG. ATK: 35 (X4) = 140**

 **MAG. DEF: 65 (X4) = 260**

 **Resist: 85 (X4) = 340**

 **Special: 100 (X4) = 400**

 **Note: With the activation of Avalon, it cannot be used again for one full month upon previous activation.]**

The light died down, allowing the rest of the party whom were running to assist Shirou to see him perfectly fine and well. Shirou slowly raised his previously severed arm, bending and flexing his fingers to get a feel. It was back and better than before.

Berserker recovered as well, its faced twisted into a monstrous snarl. Its body twitched uncontrollably, resembling an unchained mad beast. Snapping it head towards the magus player Berserker bulldozed his way forward.

"█▅▃▇▇!"

Shirou on the other hand simply stood there waiting.

"EMIYA-san?!" Momonga called out. The rest were ready to rush forward but Shirou simply held his hand out, telling them to wait. He would handle it.

Two hundred meters between Berserker and Shirou, he stretched his arm horizontally.

"Trace on!" Prana flowed out, stronger and brighter than ever. In his hand was a new copy of Nine Lives.

One hundred meters.

Shirou took a stance, Nine Lives raised above his head, his other hand positioned where his biceps were as if to support the arm wielding the weapon. (The iconic pose in Heaven Feels)

Fifty meters.

Shirou remained calm, collected. Undaunted as he looked at the mass of muscle and death that charged straight at him.

Five meters. Berserker grasped his weapon with both hands and used the speed and momentum to carry the attack. Its swing practically forming a wild gale of wind.

In that moment Shirou attacked.

 **[Nine Lives Blade Work: The Shooting Hundred Heads]**

Where as Berserker only slashed at him once Shirou slashed at him nine times. Moving at light speed a total of nine slashes killed Berserker.

The first: Upper arm. A downward slash, severing the limb as a whole and with it sending Berserker's own weapon flying.

The second: Collarbone. A deep horizontal cut, ripping his throat to pieces.

The third: Windpipe. A vertical slash, opening up access to the chest area.

The forth: Temple. A diagonal cut, splitting its head into two.

The fifth: Diaphragm. A horizontal cut, a massive gash in its place.

The sixth: Rib. A diagonal slash, cutting open its chest.

The seventh: Testicles. An upward slash, striking below and connecting upwards.

The eighth: Thighs. A diagonal slash, severing two additional limbs.

The ninth: Heart. Finally, a piercing thrust with Nine Lives extending out its back with its heart stabbed through.

 **Status – God Hand: [3]**

To the audience what had just happened seemed absurd. One second Berserker looked ready to destroy Shirou while he simply posed there. The next the reverse happened. Pieces of Berserker discarded, limbs and parts flying everywhere.

What made it all the more impressive was that Shirou throughout all of that didn't take a single step to move.

"Whoa. How did you do that EMIYA-san? You went from zero to a hundred percent in a second!" Exclaimed Yamaiko.

"Not only that but you're stats!" Momonga pointed out. "They've gained a multiplier bonus as well."

"I wasn't aware of this part EMIYA-san. Was this part of your plan?" Asked Touch Me.

"Honestly? It was a fluke." Shirou admitted. "I—

 **Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger.**

Shirou felt a shiver ran down his spine. The same kind of shiver Shirou would always experience when things were about go, as one of his previous occupational comrade would say 'tits up.'

 **'Ba-dum…'**

"Everyone! We need get to the edge now!" The sheer urgency in his voice kept anyone from arguing. Running to get away from Berserker's corpse, which was strangely not regeneration or producing steam Shirou noted, the sound of heart beats began but much slower than before. As if it was on its dying breath and about to flatlined.

 **'Ba-dum…'**

Another weakened heartbeat. Shirou kept direct line of sight on Berserker's body. Whatever it was to come it be from there. It was what happened last time when it gained its madness enchantment, so it stands to reason it would be catalyst again.

But nothing was happening. No regeneration, no hissing steam. No ominous black smoke. Not even so much as a single twitch.

It didn't help that when looking at Berserker's corpse its name and status were still visible in his HUD.

 **'Ba….dum…'**

With one final beat all was silent within the cavern. None dared to move or make a sound, their eyes peered and watching. Tension soared as the Shirou and the party prepared themselves, but as the minute mark passed, nothing happened. However, moments before anyone voice their thoughts of a possible glitch, it happened.

The party gasped and clawed at their necks. An invisible force they could not describe laid siege to their bodies, suffocating them in the process. They felt as it surrounded them and permeated their insides. Every breath was shallow and labored, every movement threatened to snap their bones, and an unstoppable cold crawled beneath their skin.

What was happening? Their collective minds raced for an answer to this vile and overwhelming feeling that had overtaken them. As most of them scrambled, an individual among them did the opposite. Shirou knew. He had experienced something similar once upon a time. This was the presence of a **Monster**. During the great war he felt such presence from the likes of Primate Murder and other great Phantasm Beasts.

With a force of will born of a mind of steel, he forced his body to face Heracles regenerating corpse. He was not ready for what he saw.

The carcass was no more. In its place, was a pile of sludge. It was the color of the deepest tar and seem to shift in a matter not unlike oobleck. It twisted in place, as if trying to break apart. In fact, it actually broke apart.

Sprouting out of the puddle was a grotesque sight. The heart of the once proud hero was held crucified on a pillar of the eldritch substance. Burrowed into the flesh of the still beating heart, were clusters of tendrils. They squirmed and shuddered, seemingly festering within the organ, as purple veins bloomed across its crimson surface.

If that wasn't unnerving enough, what followed cause bile to rise up his throat. As the fluid finished spreading in a matter similar to a virus, its host stilled. No more pulse. It motionlessly remained suspended in air. Moments later, however, it moved. It contracted upon itself, shrinking till it was, but half of its previous size with a sickening crunch. The next instance the sack of meat bulge and squirmed with a maniac energy. As it continued its frantic dance, cancerous growths grew from it surface. In a matter akin to the bubbles frothing from a drink, the growths multiplied. What flowed from its depth was the vilest of concoctions. A deluge of metamorphosed tar ran out worth with the speed of highly pressurized water. Instead of splashing its surroundings, the discharge moved backwards, following an invisible path. Shortly afterward, the withering mass coiled upon itself and formed a familiar figure.

It was wrong.

Ǐ̸͎̥̄͗̕t̵̰̰̜̠̓̏ͅ ̷̩̱͚̯̎̐͛̓ẅ̵͇́̿̔ͅã̶̲̼ṣ̷̰͎͍͂͂̈́̄̕ ̸̢̛̬̲̮̻̋͂̿̎ẉ̴̼̯̗̈́̄̀̌̓ṙ̶͖̲̗̼͇o̸̤̩̥̎̌̓̾n̶̡͉͐g̴͓̫͙̻̑̔̎̚͝.̵̙̯̱̀ͅ.̵̫̖̬͍̈́̎̐̚

 **İ̴̖̘̱̤̬͌́̀͐̚̚ͅt̷̟̙̬͙̜̬̤͑̈́̍̅͘͠ ̵̛̝̜̰̤̲̖̞̹̮̑̓̀̑̀͑͒̇w̶̧̡͔̱̩̹̦͔̏̉͊̑̎͘͜͝a̵͕̫̝͔̥͓͙͐̈́̄̔̐͆͒̕s̵̛̲͍̬̖̪̩͑̇̓͌̀͋͋̚ ̵̛̥͖̻̀ͅw̷͚͙͔͐̇͘r̵̦͎̦̬̿̓͑͗͆̕͜͠ȏ̵̻̘n̵̦̹̊̿͊̔͝g̶̡̛̭̪̼̻͙͈̭͛̇́͐͑.̴̮̬͈̥̹̞̩͚̺̄̌̀͠.̵̢͕̺͎͕̱̹͌**

 _ **I̴̙͗T̴̮̤̗̯͌͠ ̸̛̬̦̘̽W̷̻͙̤̋̈́́̏͘A̴͖̤̣̔̃͐S̷̢̛͖̮̯̿̑͆̓̔ ̸͙͚̲͍̘̂̄͐̒̋̉Ẁ̶̨̪̪̓͑̒͌͝R̵͓̠̦̞̤͇͆̋̂͋Ơ̸̢̟̗͖̰̍̍͛͘N̴̩̆̅͘͘͝G̵̠͙͈͎̼̀̐̑͐̂**_

A splitting headache broke the party from their stupor. Their mind revolted against the abomination it had witnessed, refusing to accept what it had observed as truth. But denial would only carry them so far, as any misgivings they held were brutally murdered.

A roar that transcended the inhumane. They could not hear it, but they felt it. The world shook and their ears bleed at the obscure sound they could not understand. This maddening presence and the shaking of their hands. What was going on? It wasn't till the roar end did they understood. Berserker was back.

"Everyone! L-look!" Momonga stammered. His finger pointing not to Berserker but above him.

 **Blackened Berserker: Lvl – 500**

 **Status – God Hand: [3]**

"Oh god… Another damned transformation…" Bukubukchagama lamented.

"Forget third transformation, check out the level! The damned boss jumped all the way to level 500! It's basically a World Enemy at this point!" Yamaiko screamed, her nerves fried from the previous experience.

"Panicking won't do us any good Yamaiko-san." Touch Me reasoned, his usual confidence shaken.

"Touch Me-san, positive thinking will only go so far! Unless we got a World Class item, which I'll remind you we don't, we can't win!" Yamiko rebutted.

The slime and skeletal player only nodded their head in agreement.

The group looked moments away from losing it. This didn't surprise the faker, braver man and woman broke under similar pressure and forces. Perhaps why they weren't affected as much as was because this Berserker was completely virtual, or it was by proxy.

A thought for another time. Right now, they needed reassurance.

"If it's a World Class item, then I'll just have to trace one!" Shirou suddenly announced, to the shock of his companions.

"Hold on! You can summon a World Class item?!" Momonga blurted out.

"Focus!" Touch Me countered. "We don't have time for that. EMIYA-san, are you saying that you can finish its remaining lives with this trump card of yours?"

"…Yes. However, it'll take some time to completely trace it. And unfortunately, it'll revived before I can complete the tracing."

"How long?" Touch Me asked, his gaze turning back to the boss whom was roughly 50% healed.

"A little over a minute." And judging by the progress of the boss they had little less than that.

"…Then the plan remains unchanged. EMIYA-san is the key to victory, all we need to do is buy him enough time."

"But can you?" Shirou asked, his voice betraying the lingering doubt. With a third transformation and its level increased it would be impossible to expect them to even last no more than a few seconds against the boss. Shirou could temporarily hold his ground but that was only because of Avalon's incredible buffs to his stats.

At this Touch Me shoulder's silently hunched.

"…In truth. I don't really know…" Touch Me honestly admitted, his voice lacking his usual confidence. Replaced with an almost meek and resigned tone.

His admittance didn't do go so well as the others felt their spirit dropped even further.

"…However…" Touch Me paused for dramatic effect. The rest looked to him, waiting. Raising a trembling hand, he clenched it, curbing his feeling of doubt and trepidation.

"We have come this far have we not?" Touch Me began, a whisper but all could hear the weight and determination behind it.

"Even when it first appeared after our arduous fight with the Hydra boss we still didn't give up. Even after it reached its second form, we remained undaunted and faced it with everything we had." Progressing, Touch Me voice slowly grew from its meek tone, returning to his boisterous voice.

"Our friend, our allies, sacrificed themselves so that we may bring victory in their place. If we give up now, would we not be spitting in their memory?" No longer was his voice plagued with doubt, his once passionate spirit rekindled.

It isn't a matter of 'if' or 'can' we hold the line. We **will** hold the line, just like Tabula-san, Peroroncino-san, Ulbert-san, and Amanomahitotsu-san beforehand. We too shall do whatever it takes to give you the perfect opportunity. If you believe you can win this, then I shall put my trust in you EMIYA-san!" Touch Me finished, putting all his passion into his speech.

The others looked to the silver paladin, despite the doubt and uncertainty he still his spirit high. Unwavering, no matter what came.

Hearing Touch Me's rally they too felt a spark rekindling into a blazing fire. Their spirit or morale restored from the depth of darkness. Shirou carefully looked to each one of them. Despite the limited animated feature Shirou could feel their sheer determination. Even the ever doubtful Momonga radiated a determination like never before.

"…Then I'll leave the rest to you than! Buy me as much time as you can!"

"Then you have orders! Do whatever it takes to prevent the boss from reaching EMIYA-san! Even if it means at the cost of your HP, buy him every second you can!" Touch Me proclaimed.

"Roger!" The rest rallied and chanted. They ragged tagged group went to positioning themselves for the coming fight. They had roughly thirty seconds before complete revival, and time was of the essence.

Repositioning himself as far back as he could Shirou took a deep breath. His heartbeat steadied, his mind cleared of all doubt only the vision of victory.

There was only one weapon within all of Unlimited Blade Works that could finish off Berserker once and for all.

Shirou began the chant.

 ** _[Judging the concept of creation]_**

 _"A weapon, a symbol, destined to determine and be wielded by the Once and Future King."_

 **[20 seconds remaining]**

Organizing themselves in the best possible position it was determined that Touch Me would take the first line of defense. Bukubukchagama and Yamaiko were the second line of defense. Finally, Momonga took the last line of defense.

"[Body of Effulgent Beryl]" Using his remaining MP he casted one last spell. A 10th tier spell with the ability to completely negate one instant bludgeoning attack. Granting him an additional layer of protection and time.

 ** _[Hypothesizing the basic structure]_**

 _"A majestic long-sword, decorated with gilded gold and majestic blue, fae runes engraved its purpose, resonating harmony and strength."_

 **[10 seconds remaining]**

Finally, the pools of viscous black ooze merged to form the final form of the boss. Berserker's new body was completely restored.

The menacing black miasma returned in full force, swallowing it whole. Berserker form gave way, resembling nothing like it once did. Where it was once flesh and blood gave way to a viscous hollow form. Nothing but a haunting mass of blackened wisps and tar, with a deep crimson glow eradiating from the body. Its deep obsidian skin was constantly slithering and writhing, as if every part of it was alive and independent rather than whole. Tendrils of black haze eradiated from the monster, shrouding it like a second layer of skin.

Two crimson orbs lit up, a sight filled with nothing but madness and dark intent.

A chill like no other shook them to their core, as if they were truly in the presence of death itself. Despite all of this, they persevered. This only strengthen their resolve. They made it this far, they weren't going to lose now!

 ** _[Duplicating the composition material]_**

 _"Forge in divine steel, grafted by human hands, a weapon to which none has ever been seen before."_

 **[0 seconds remaining]**

Blackened Berserker was fully revived.

"███████████▄▄█████▇!" It roared, a nightmarish horror. Releasing a sound that no human or beast could possibly make it, charged. Every step booming, causing a miniature earthquake, rocking the entire cavern. Crystal's broke loose, falling like hail and smashing on against the hard floor.

"It's been a while since I've used this." Touch Me muttered to himself, his posture straight as a lance and unflinching in the face of terror. "But I cannot think of more suitable cause!"

 **[World Guardian]!**

The azure sapphire embedded in his chest plate shined. From it an incandescent glow exploded, painting the cavern in light. At the center of it all was Touch Me, a magnificent aura washed over him. Pure light versus tainted darkness.

If [World Break] was considered the strongest attack, with no form of counter or method to block or dodge it. Then [World Guardian] would be considered THE ultimate defensive ability. This was the special and unique ability that Touch Me's majestic armor, **[Compliance with Law]** , possess as a World Champion. For 25 whole seconds Touch Me was completely invincible with his strength and stats rivaling that of the level-breaking World Enemy.

"Come monster! Test your mettle against a Hero of Justice!"

His eyes shined through his silver helm challenging the boss head on. He quickly dismissed his sword, for it wouldn't be needed for what's to come.

"███▄▄███!" Berserker roared and accepted the challenge.

Blackened Berserker cocked its fist back and fired to which Touch Me returned in kind. The two fists struck one another, and the world shook!

The floor beneath cracked and splintered. A shockwave like no other shook the cavern, threatening to cause a total collapse of the cavern. But Touch Me, he stood unbent and unbroken.

 ** _[Imitating the skill of its making]_**

 _Blessed by Fae and worshipped by man, it stands as the shining beacon of Hope._

"█▇▇▇▅▃▃▄█████████!"

"RARRGGGHHHH!"

Both roared from the pits of their very soul.

With a shield in one hand Touch Me withstood a second punch from the boss. Blackened Berserker would attack again only to be meet by another one of the World Champion punches.

Blackened Berserker attacked, faster and stronger than ever before but Touch Me stood and took it all, unwavering in his resolve. His shield weathering its attack blow for blow. His fist matching its monstrous strength and speed. Back and forth they would go, their strength unable to surpass the other.

For each blow, more and more of the ground cracked, unable to withstand explosive forces of two beings that have transcended past mortal limits.

'Boom!' Crack!

'Boom!' Crack!

'Boom!' Crack!

'Boom!' Crack!

'Boom!' Crack!

To the others it was like watching a duel between giants, a battle that one could only find in legends.

 **The Unstoppable Force meeting The Immovable Object.**

Neither yielding to the other as their fists met again, and again, and again.

Touch Me was a paladin, a holy knight. He was a Hero of Justice for all, be they heteromorph or not. He was the sword that cuts all evil within his path.

But he was also a shield.

An indomitable and unshakable shield that shall bare it all.

To attack but to also protect.

That was who he was.

He was Touch Me, a Hero of Justice and The Silver Paladin of Nines Own Goal!

Their fists struck again, but this time things were different. The near divine light flickered and was slowly fading away.

His twenty-five seconds were up.

"Then let's make it count!" With one last passionate battle cry Touch Me attacked. Their fists stuck one final time, and with it the last of his strength. Shock waves exploded from the clash and as the two struggled for supremacy the brilliant aura surrounding Touch Me finally **retracted.** The last visage of his power dissipated, leaving Touch Me mortal once more.

"It's up to you now! Go EMIYA-san!" With those parting words Touch Me's HP hit zero and he shattered into nothingness.

 ** _[Sympathizing with the experience of its growth]_**

 _There it laid in stone, dormant, waiting for the chosen one to take their rightful place as King._

Berserker continued on. For the players; Bukubukchagama and Yamaiko, both knew a head on confrontation was suicidal. Their combined strength was no where near Touch Me's but then again, they didn't have to be.

Bukubukchagama and Yamaiko knew their roles. They needed to delay the boss just long enough for Momonga.

For Yamaiko if she was going to go down, then she would go down swinging!

A similar situation repeated. Yamaiko pink gauntlet jabbed forward, Berserker launch a fist of his own and the two collided. Unlike Touch Me's version Yamaiko had neither the strength or durability to contend with the boss. Blackened Berserker fist punched through her attack and guard, and straight through her head and reduced her HP to zero.

Bukubukchagama opted for a more unorthodox approach.

"[Supreme Elasticity]!" The pink bubble gum coloured slime expanded beyond her normal capability. Outstretched, Bukubukchagama sough to bind and restrict it for however long she could.

To her credit it held the boss back for a few seconds but that was all she could manage. Peeling the slime off like she was nothing but wet paper Blackened Berserker ripped her to pieces and so Bukubukchagama joined her fellow party member.

Together, they held Blackened Berserker back for ten seconds.

And so, only one remains between it and total victory.

 ** _[Reproducing the accumulated years]_**

 _Wielded by the one true king, it served her well and faithfully until it was broken but its duty fulfilled. The King was chosen._

Watching his friends and teammates go and sacrifice themselves one by one tested Momonga's resolve. Whispers plagued his mind, all telling him to run away, to flee out of the boss's sight. No boss has ever caused such a fight-or-flight response within until now. Yet, he stood his ground.

To run now would mean abandoning everything they've worked up to till now.

And that was something he couldn't afford.

'I can do this! I can do this! I can do this! I can do this! I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!' Momonga mentally hyping himself up.

 **"You shall not pass!"** The undead sorcerer declared! His staff striking the ground as Momonga spread his arms wide. Inviting the boss to attack him.

Blackened Berserker more than eagerly recuperated. Momonga allowed the attack to make contact, thus activating his spell.

"[Body of Effulgent Beryl]!" The spell activated. A green light appeared around him before breaking. The 10th tier spell completely negated its initial attack. Not only that, as if time had rewound the distance between Berserker and Momonga increased. Buying him a few more seconds.

If Berserker was surprised it didn't show. Instead it continued once again trying to eliminate the skeletal mage. With no opinion left and acting on pure instinct Momonga dove forward with his arms outstretched.

Blackened Berserker fist scrapped the top of the skeleton's bare cranium but didn't kill. Momonga found himself latching himself onto the stomach. Like an annoying cockroach he refused to die, trying to buy as much time as he could.

Berserker, thoroughly annoyed, figured it would play Momonga's game. Wrapping its arm around its body the boss began to choke and constrict the undead.

As death approaches his last thoughts were, "I hope I bought him enough time." With that, Momonga disappeared, leaving only Shirou remaining.

And he did.

 ** _[Excelling every manufacturing process]_**

 _Its physical form gave way, lost to annuals of time but its spirit remained etched in memory. It has bared many names, The Sword in the Stone, The Sword of Choosing, but to him it was known as simply The Golden Sword of Assured Victory:_

Berserker turned just in time as light poured forth from Shirou's hand. A heavenly and divine light unlike any seen before it. Not even Touch Me's [World Guardian] or Durandal could even compare to such a holy light. It only intensified, as if Shirou wielding an entire star within the palms of his hands.

Golden particles swirled within in hands, gathering and uniting. A torrent of wind picked up, his coat tails flapping within the mighty gales.

First came the hilt, a deep ocean blue and spherical jewel pummel.

The hilt formed next, a dazzling and embroidered golden curved guard.

Finally, the blade, of fine silver and a brilliant gold with runes shining bright.

A sword like no other. A holy sword matched by none save for its successor. From his reality marble he summoned it forth, from the hills and plains of steel. A single hill stood the highest amongst them all, there his strongest weapon laid, ready to be called upon once more. There at the top of the world (his soul) it stood watching and waiting to once again be used. To bring victory, and now was that time.

The sword's name:

 **[Caliburn: The Golden Sword of The Victorious]**

More golden particles flickered into existence, floating aimlessly like fireflies in the night.

The light that poured forth was unmatched, filling cavern with light.

Shirou heart swelled as he gazed upon the majestic blade, having long forgotten it divine glow. If he could his face would be once of reverence and wonder.

Opposite to Shirou was Berserker, who was writhing in place. Its skin burned from the light, quivering as if being in Caliburn's very presence was hurting the darkened boss. In an attempt to try and over power it, Blackened Berserker form grew and intensified, darkness creeping and spreading all around.

As the Light grew, Darkness rose to match it.

It was time to end this.

" **Sing. Caliburn**." Shirou invoked.

 **[Caliburn: The Golden Sword of Assured Victory – World Class Item]**

 **[Active ability: When summoned, the user of this weapon has the opinion to convert any of their ability stat into energy to be used for Caliburn's next strike. For every 40 ability points sacrificed it grants a times square multiplier (2^X) to the user's next attack. The stat will remain like that until the weapon is dismissed.**

 **HP: 75 (X4) = 300 reduced to 1**

 **MP: 85 (X4) = 340 reduced to 0**

 **PHY. ATK: 80 (X4) = 320 reduced to 0**

 **PHY. DEF: 70 (X4) = 280 reduced to 0**

 **Agility: 85 (X4) = 340 reduced to 0**

 **MAG. ATK: 35 (X4) = 140 reduced to 0**

 **MAG. DEF: 65 (X4) = 260 reduced to 0**

 **Resist: 85 (X4) = 340 reduced to 0**

 **Special: 100 (X4) = 400 reduced to 0**

 **Total level exchange (X): 2,720/40 = 68**

 **Total multiplier bonus: 2^(68) = 2.9*(10^20) or 2,900,000,000,000,000,000,000x**

 **The next immediate attack shall be boosted by the multiplier bonus.]**

Combined with Avalon's buff to its ability stats, Shirou sacrificed it all to Caliburn. This next attack would be the last.

A surge of golden prana burst forth from the blade, a shinning pillar illuminating the path to victory.

"Let's end this…"

"███████████████████████!"

Blackened Berserker seemed to agree, with one final horrific screech Berserker rocketed itself towards the faker.

Grasping it with both of his hands, the pillar of golden light increased in magnitude and brilliance. Kicking off the ground Shirou meet the monstrous servant's assault.

Meeting in the middle, Shirou swung.

" **CALIBURN**!"

And then, everything went white.

* * *

Upon a player's death they are taken to barren and endless void like surrounding. Finding himself in the Void as the flavor text or lore implies, Momonga has several choices on where he could be respawn.

He could either A. choose to respawn at one of the many spawn points within Vanaheim. B. Log out right then and there. Or C. Respawn at the clan's registered building since he was now a part of Nines Own Goal.

Selecting option C, a flash of white light filled the endless void. In the next second Momonga stood in an open circular room. Clan buildings have designated respawn points that double as teleport zone. There, the rest of the party stood around, waiting. Seeing yet another one of their comrades appearing they perked up. Everyone was scattered about, waiting.

"And that makes eight." Chimed in Ulbert.

"Momonga-san!" Peroroncino called out. Running towards the necromancer the avian grabbed a hold of his shoulder and shook him. "What happened?! Did you buy EMIYA-sempai enough time?! Did EMIYA-sempai make it?!"

"Otouto!" Bukubukchagama appeared next to him and firmly smacked upside his head. "One, you're being rude! Two, if you gave Momonga-san some space, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to tell all of us."

"Appreciated Bukubukchagama-san." Momonga gave his thanks. "I'm afraid I won't be of much help in that department. I held out for as long as I do, I died before seeing it but I think I bought him enough time for EMIYA-san to summon his World Class item."

"And Touch Me was just getting to that." Ulbert interjected. All attention turned to him. "So not only can he summon Divine tier weapons out the ass, but also World Class item as well?! The hell kind of build can let you do that? Better question, why didn't he tell us that and start out with it in the first place?!" At this point it seemed as if the goat heteromorph was only venting.

"To be fair…" Tabula joined in. "I'm sure he has his own reasons. EMIYA-san rather special ability, tracing if I'm remember it correct, is extremely power. That kind of information you keep under wrap no matter who or what the situation is. Using it carelessly can lead they can players finding out counters for him and can lead to PK's revenge considering his track record and general dislike within the game and player base. The fact that he showed it to us in its entirely speaks volume of his trust in us. Secondly, you forget Ulbert-san while World Class items are indeed powerful, they can't be used without careful planning and strategy. A trump card like that can't be expose so easily. If placed in the same situation, you wouldn't be any different Ulbert-san." Finished the intellectual brain eater playing devil's advocate.

Ulbert grumbled something akin to an agreement. He himself when he finally possessed the World Disaster class let everyone know, he proclaimed it to all in a show of superiority. However, that made him a target as while the World Disaster class was a massive dps spell caster he still possessed the weakness of a magic caster and can be easily taken out by a coordinate team or even a single extremely skilled player. It was why he stopped doing it.

"Alright, that solves one mystery. But what about the fact that EMIYA some how knew about that boss despite being revealed for the first time?" Ulbert questioned.

"Indeed, even I am puzzled by that. The only way for him to possibly know of the boss ability would be either because he fought it before hand, which was again an improbability. Or he somehow hacked his way into YGGDRASIL and came across its feature and code. It could even be he was a part of the programming team for that specific boss. We don't truly know." Speculated Tabula.

"We can speculate all we wish, but it is EMIYA-san that holds the truth. He promised he would tell us, so for now let us wait." Amanomahitotsu sagely added.

Conversation petered off as the eight heteromorphic players remained silent, waiting for their friend to bring them the news.

By ten minutes the group was waiting around, do nothing but keeping themselves occupied until Shirou returned.

By twenty minutes everyone was getting a bit antsy. Peroroncino wouldn't stop pacing. Ulbert pointer finger talon constantly tapped against his other forearm. Bukubukchagama was a bit difficult but Momonga recognized that she was moving her head around, her vision sweeping side to side waiting for any clue. Yamaiko herself was tapping her foot impatiently. Momonga wasn't immune as he stood, fidgeting in place. The only ones that remained calm and collected were Tabula, Touch Me, and Amanomahitotsu.

As tension and doubt rose amongst the group it suddenly came to a head when a message appeared in group chat.

It was from Shirou.

Momonga accepted the call in record time. "EMIYA-san! Are you alright?! What happened?! Did you win?" His emotions on full display.

"… It seemed I've might have worried you guys. I'm sorry for that, picking up all the loot took a lot longer than expected."

Wait.

Loot?

That implied that he…

"He won! YOSSSHHH!" Peroroncino beat Momonga to the punch, happily blurting out what everyone was thinking.

Cheers and hoorays' broke out amongst the party. Peroroncino running with his hands in the air like an excited child. Bukubukchagama and Yamaiko high fiving each other. Tabula and Touch Me shook hands, with Amanomahitotsu earning a pat on the back. Even Ulbert wasn't left out, standing much taller compared to slouch stance he had.

For Momonga he simply let out a breath he didn't realized he was holding.

"Where are you guys at this moment?"

"We are at the clan's base. Head to a teleporter, and it should be a selectable opinion for travel."

"Understood. I'll shall arrive in five minutes."

Once again, the group shimmered down and waited with palpable excitement. In no time at all Shirou appeared. He barely got a word in before everyone surrounded him, patting him on the back or congratulating him. And why wouldn't they? They managed to defeat an End Boss with just the nine of them, a feat that took extraordinary prowess and it all thanks to Shirou.

"Now that you're here, maybe you can finally tell us what the hell you meant by we wouldn't 'believe you.'"

"Not this again, Ulbert-san. Please, have some tact—"

"It's fine Touch Me-san." Shirou interrupted. "I promised you all answers and that's what I'll do. I ask that you all allow me to finish what I have to say first and please do not interrupt me. I shall take any question at the end."

Seeing no objection and with their undivided attention Shirou gave his side of the story.

"The reason I know of this because I in part helped inspired it. Zelretch and I…. we're friend…no, that wouldn't be the right word... acquaintance. Yea let's go with that. We've been acquaintances for several years. The idea, theme, appearance and ability of Berserker as you saw was something from my own past. There were hundreds of designs and ideas for monster and creatures that we accumulated over the years. It seems Zelretch incorporated them within YGGDRASIL, and that's how I recognize Berserker.

"Hold on!" Ulbert called out. "That would imply you were the head designer for all of YGGDRASIL then!"

"Ulbert-san! We all agreed to allow EMIYA-san the courtesy to finish what he wanted to say." Touch Me voiced disapprovingly. The others also gave him disapproving looks.

Ignoring Touch Me and the others Ulbert continued on. "I may not know jack shit about game design, but I know how companies work. Legal loops to jump through and contracts of privacy. No way in hell would a multi-billion-yen company like Kaleidoscope Industry would allow someone that high up or with so much knowledge of the game free reign to potentially spill every secret within the game. They'll sue your ass to the moon and back!"

"…You would be correct Ulbert-san. However, it's hard to indict someone that doesn't have a physical body anymore." He sarcastically quipped.

Dropping another bombshell like that, the previous hostile atmosphere dissipated completely. Each one stunned into silence over what they heard.

"I'm sorry EMIYA-san, but you please repeat that?" Yamaiko whispered, her mind reeling from what he said. The others were in similar state of shock. Their minds trying to wrap around the absurdity of his words.

Shirou leaned back against one of the many pillars dotting the area. His entire posture slouched, a sense of weariness and fatigue radiating from the silver-haired player. For a split moment his image seemed to have slipped and for a brief moment he appeared to be older. More worn. It was gone as quickly as it came. Taking a smoldering deep breath he exhaled.

"Before I continue, let me tell you a little story. A long time ago, way before I even met or knew of Zelretch. A story beginning with a boy named Shirou Emiya."

Everyone perked up hearing his full name. So Emiya was his surname and no doubt the inspiration for his own nametag.

Shirou took a moment to collect himself before beginning again. "Shirou Emiya was not a normal boy, at least by the averages of the world at the time. A boy that grew up without never knowing of his parents, an adoptive father that left this world too soon but imparted onto him a dream. A boy that wanted to become a **Hero**." He began heavily.

The sheer weight and emotion he placed in the word 'Hero' could be sensed by everyone. The longing, regret, admiration, everything. All mixed together in a volatile cocktail of emotion and intrigue. He spoke that word as if it was something more, something much grander but at the same time a burden.

The others players subconsciously straightened their backs hearing this. Their undivided attention on him.

"My life was rather mundane in all aspects, at least insofar as being a twice over orphan goes. I lived by myself after my foster father died, my guardian being my next door neighbor and my teacher. A woman with a voracious appetite and unrivaled skill with a kendo sword. As for friends…I honestly at the time only had two. My kouhai and someone I talked often to while I did repair work at the school while he was Student Council President.

It was around high school that others came into my life. One of them was actually my little sister, though I did not learn about it until much, much later." He said, mulling and musing over almost long forgotten memories of easier days…better days.

He didn't see Peroroncino or Bukubukuchagama lean in at the mention of his sister, since they themselves were siblings they found this to be an interesting subject matter for them. Momonga and the rest were silent as he continued.

"I then met, or rather you could say, was rescued from a stupid situation of my own creation by who would become my future girlfriend and lover. From there, an old friend of my father's finally tracked him down to our home and decided to help take care of me. It was an odd assortment of people I became friends with, but they were my treasure and I wouldn't give it up for the world.

One thing that bonded us all together was our love of mythology. From monsters to magic, Greek to Irish to Britain to Japanese, we each had a love for the stories and mythos of old. We made a small little group over it and made fictitious adventures where we each controlled one of those beings from lore.

The Berserker that we faced and also to answer Ulbert-san's question was my sisters. Heracles, the demigod and one of the most well-known Greek heroes. Many of his abilities were taken from the tales of his infamous Twelve Labors, most notably the number of lives he had. She loved his tales of courage and his larger than life myths almost as much as she loved me." A small, rueful chuckle came to mind as he recalled Illya's REAL feelings about him and Berserker.

After pausing to take another breath, even though it wasn't needed, he continued. "Though eventually, time passed and our tight-knit group began to fall apart, one by one. My kouhai had left, never to be seen again. My classmate had gone on to be a full time Monk of the Shrine he was raised in. As for my sister….before I realized it, she was gone, her life snuffed it honestly what felt like almost an instant." If he could have the ability to shed tears, he would have because Illya had not deserved the fate she suffered that day. Just another life he couldn't save.

"My lover and my father's friend both ran into Zelretch, whom at the time was intrigued by my lover's intelligence, money management skills and her at times zealous imagination. He offered to take her under his wing and she agreed, taking me and my father's friend with her. It would be the last true moments of peace I would come to enjoy."

In the silence, each member mulled over the information. Each one had differing thoughts on what they had been told.

Midway during the conversation, when Shirou spoke of his own little sister the saddened and almost hollow tone of voice got to the avian heteromorph. Peroroncino had reached out and gently cup his hands with his sisters and Bukubukchagama returned the gesture with a reassuring squeeze. Hearing that Shirou, his sempai and the player that accepted him pervert and all had lost his sister frightened him The thought of losing his own sister sent chills down his spine.

For Bukubukchagama, to learn that her friend had a little sister as well was surprising as it was saddening upon learning that she was on longer of this world. She couldn't begin to even think of knowing how Shirou felt; all three of the people closest to him gone and leaving him all alone. The sheer feeling of isolation rattled her. While she and her brother had their differences the two cared for and loved one another; pervert and all.

For Momonga and Ulbert, his words struck a chord with them. While everyone else could only sympathize with Shirou after hearing his loss, for Momonga and Ulbert were the only two who could actually **empathize** with what they had just heard. Both of them lost their parents at very young ages and were forced to grow up without any true parental figures. The two didn't have any friends or family in real life. At best, they could say they had acquaintances. So, they dedicated their own lives to the game, to this virtual world. Where they could be free, liberated from the truth of the world that was known as reality.

For Momonga, he gave himself to this virtual world in hopes of starting anew. A second chance at life for something more than what reality gave him. In fact it says quite a lot about him that he would consider Shirou his first and true friend.

On Ulbert's end, it was to escape from the shitty world called 'reality'. To him, even if it was only for a moment, he wanted to immerse himself in the world and leave behind his real name. He desired to truly live and breathe as Ulbert Alain Odle!

For the rest, they kept their thoughts to themselves and waited in respectful silence until Shirou started again.

"Like all things, time passed and even with the bond we shared, the three of us went our separate ways and eventually I drifted apart from them. I, who still clung onto the dream of becoming a hero, went out to fulfill that dream. Unlike everyone else, who wanted to make things better for everyone around them, or at the very least for themselves…I…I was more suited to taking things than I was creating."

"…What do you mean my taking?" Bukubukchagama asked nervously. She did NOT like the way he had worded what he just said.

The group as a whole couldn't shake the ominous feeling that pressed down on them. The way he said 'taking' rang all sorts of bells in their minds.

"Fighting…" Shirou elaborated. "I was more suited for a battlefield than in an office cubicle, whether it be a skirmish…or a full blown war."

"A war…" Yamaiko whispered, her voice aghast as she realized what he was talking about.

"Wait a minute…the only war in recent time was the Arcology War with the newly reformed Neo Nazis. That was at least thirteen years ago, beginning in 2118 right?" Momonga asked, recalling the news as best as he could remember it since he would have been in school at the time.

Hearing this they all turned towards the lone player.

He said nothing, but his silence was damning enough.

For context, World War One lasted for four years.

World War Two was slightly longer, lasting around six years before it ended.

The Arcology War blew both out of the water as it lasted for nine years. It also had the distinct honor of having gone down in history as one of, if not THE most destructive war, rivaling that of the previous World Wars and then some in sheer brutality.

There were countless rumors and speculations that followed the war. Chief among them was that the Neo-Nazi's were intending to fulfill the dream of the Führer. Another rumor said that the war was dragged out in an attempt to cur overpopulation issues within the European countries where the war had started. Some say that fighting broke out due to one party wishing for complete control over the European region and what budding resources it had left. Others say that the various mega corporations of the world had a hand in this, spurring the war in a subtle attempt to weaken those countries government to in order to expand their reach. Whatever the case may be, to this day the war was catastrophic on all sides. There was no 'winner' in that war, only survivors.

What made it so frightening compared to the other two World Wars was not the death toll but rather the absolute mayhem and devastation that laid waste to nearly all of Europe. The time of simple kinetic weaponry had vanished, making way to more destructive forms of weaponry that their ancestors could only dream of. Magnetic and even laser-based weapons became common place. Countries and land were burnt, scarred, and destroyed by these weapons. Soldiers and basic militia were sent to the slaughter house, dying by the thousands every day and then whomever survived that day was sent in the day after that, until there were truly none left and the next batch of drafted recruits were sent to take their place.

The mortality rate, once researched after the war was over, was discovered to be a staggering seventy-five percent. It was considered a miracle if one could even live past a week in the 'Hot Zones', let alone the rest of the war.

Of what was considered to be the very unlucky few that survived on the battle field came out of it hardened, but also scarred and broken.

The rest of the members silently gulped.

For two in particular, Touch Me and Yamaiko, paled and shuddered at the thought that their friend was a survivor and veteran of that personal hellscape.

"I've fought in so many battles and skirmishes across the world that it all blurs together. For a time, I thought I could keep my ideals and dream true. That I could save, help and protect everyone. Yet I quickly learned that if I truly wanted to save lives, I needed to take lives as well. I would need to take the lives of those that would take the lives of the innocent. If I truly wanted to be a hero, I would need to save people. But that would mean there would be a need people to be saved in the first place…"

Shirou reared his head back and let out a humorless chuckle.

"A paradoxical and flawed ideal..." He said, slowly raising up his hand, while hard to make out the others could see that they were shaking.

"But even after these years, after all that I've been through…I still don't regret it. I know that my dream is unreachable and incredibly naive. But still, just because my dream of saving everyone is out of reach doesn't mean it's not worth chasing. I'll keep on chasing after it, no matter how wretched others say my ideals may be." He clenched his fist, his voice and eyes resolute to the very end.

Touch Me and Tabula were of two minds after hearing this.

For Touch Me, hearing of Shirou's ideals reminded him of his own. Outside of YGGDRASIL Touch Me would be considered a 'fully-fledged' member of society. He was among the few to be privileged by both being born and raised in a wealthy home. There was never a time where he was left wanting. As a child, the ideals of justice and heroism were installed firmly in his belief. Years down the line he graduated from a prestigious policing academy and joined the force. All in the belief of servicing justice to all!

How quickly those ideals turned to ash and the bitter taste of reality stabbed him for thinking so naively.

The law he fought so hard to upkeep was bent and twisted to suit the needs of a corrupt society. Lives were wasted and discarded at the whims of those higher up in the chain of command.

But what truly broke his spirit and his heart was when he learned that those he looked up to, those that he inspired to be, were just as bad as the people that he arrested and put behind bars. His fellow officers and former friends, those to keep the peace and justice…were all dirty. Dirty cops paid by one thug or another, to always look the other way.

He vowed an honest cop, a true cop like in the olden days where Law and Order actually meant something.

It was a vow that didn't last a month before the commissioner of his department heard of his ideals. How quickly his tune changed once they started to threaten not only his himself but also his wife.

And so, his once proud dream of true justice slipped through his fingers as he was forced to abide by and follow the rules of a corrupt society. Lest he and those he loves pay the price.

It was why he started YGGDRASIL in the first place. Just like the real world it too was plagued with evil. However, here he saw an opportunity to make a difference. In this virtual world Touch Me had the chance of finally becoming a Hero of Justice!

The World Champion straightened out his back and puffed out his chest. He couldn't help but feel a distinct kinship with Shirou. To hear of Shirou's own trials and tribulations and how he accepted the burden of it all on his own terms. Not unlike his own he ashamedly admitted in his mind.

For Tabula, why he was sympathetic to his plight and burdens he was more interested in the little details finally revealed. Finally, the pieces of the puzzles were slowly coming together. When he first witnessed Shirou's display of combative prowess he wondered. Who was he? He had seen the way he fought and moved and knew from the start something was amiss. It was too precise, too instinctive to be done by a simple controller or even thought-based motion. There was no way that any random gamer could possess such a level of finesse. Not even Touch Me, who was hailed as a World Champion and one of the BEST players in all of YGGDRASIL was on that level.

It was reasonable as he had training in field of self-defense within the police academy and many others. If Shirou had survived the entire Arcology War, a miraculous feat on its own, it would certainly explain his startling reaction time and level head in times of crisis such as their recent Boss Battle.

Once he saw that everyone's attention was back on him, Shirou continued his story.

"And so, I fought and fought and fought some more. I kept on fighting until it eventually became too much for me to continue on, even if I limped and dragged myself to those battlefields. In the end, I was hospitalized from crippling injuries and the world moved on without me. I was confined to a bed, a prisoner in my own body as I watched the world moved on as I slowly wasted away without living a proper life. But Zelretch, he reached out to me. My friend…my ex-girlfriend at that point, who worked under him and is still working under him, reached out to the man himself. She asked him to help me—for another chance at life you could say. And, well... Let's just say that I wasn't ready to waste away what little of my life was left confined to drab walls and horrible tubed food. So I signed away my consent and hoped that it would work out. Thankfully, it has…at least so far anyways."

"That's well and good in all, but that still doesn't explain the **_how_**." Amanomahitotsu politely questioned.

"I was just about to get to that." Shirou reassured. "Question. Does anyone know the exact mechanism of the Neural Nano-Interface and how it operates?" He tapped the side of his temple.

Hearing the non-sequitur question the group were momentarily confused. When no answer came, he continued.

"No one knows? Well you're not alone, neither do I to be honest."

That managed to get a chuckle, albeit a small and quiet one, out of a couple of them. Lightening up the mood, if only by a little bit.

"From what I gather from Zelretch's rambling, nanomachines within our body are the mediums that link our mind within the real world to that of the virtual space. Signals are sent via electrical and neural impulses from our brain and are intercepted by the nanomachines and then converted into data. Our bodies are left in almost REM sleep like state where our mind and conscious are awake but separated from our physical bodies. Making it so the body doesn't move around while your mind is occupied. You could say our body is in a pseudo comatose state.

I say this as I still do not know how exactly it was that Zelretch did this. From what I gathered he somehow managed to transfer my entire consciousness and digitalized it. The how and why are a mystery. I am unable to log out, making me a permanent resident within this virtual world. I honestly wish I could explain it to you, but I can't. And that's my story." Finished Shirou.

For several minutes non spoke, each one reeling from the massive revelation that was revealed to them. As Shirou's words and story was played back in Momonga's mind, his thought raced with a thousand questions.

Like pieces of a puzzle coming together perfectly to paint an image, everything started to make much more sense. His thoughts traveled back to the past, to the first time he met the silver haired player. The confusion he had when he learned of the world of YGGDRASIL, the cry out of Zelretch's name of all people. His altruistic and kind nature when it came to gaming and helping people. It also explained so much of discrepancies that Momonga wondered about him. More than that it solves the mystery of why he appeared always online. It wasn't because he a NEET or because he was an addict, it was because he couldn't even log out if he wanted to.

Momonga turned to look to see just how the others were taking it. The brother and sister duo looked to one another, as if communicating telepathically. The rest were in their own varying degree of contemplation. Their true thoughts and emotion hidden behind their avatars.

As the silence persisted Shirou could only silently grimace. He had to suppress the worrying sigh that was building up.

Of course, they wouldn't believe him, it sounded completely ludicrous.

The plot of Sci-Fi B-movie.

He knew he had come clean. Or at least, as clean as he could be without talking about his true origins. Surprisingly, the tale came rather easily for him as he pondered and scheme during when he took his time collecting the various loot drop within the cave. In his long career as a fake hero he has done many, many things. Some of which he wasn't proud doing but understood it as a necessity. Lies were something the faker could never get over. Little white lies were fine, but Shirou found he never could fully lie to anyone no matter the situation or severity. Instead, he got better twisting the truth.

After all, the best lies have some truth as their foundation.

What he told them was indeed true, but not the entire context of the situation. He did know Zelretch by association, and he knew of Berserker and that it was true he belonged to his sister Illya. He had fought in numerous wars and battles in his life, but he never did specify. Honestly, when Momonga mentioned the Archeology War he quickly ran with it turning the second half of his explanation into a slight improv. He was telling the truth when he said he really did not know how the crazed Dead Apostle trapped him within YGGDRASIL.

He simply omitted the circumstances and situation of each part. Leaving it ambiguous enough to where he would let them fill in the blanks and come to their own conclusion. Some way for them to rationalizing the absurd.

Still, this was a large amount of trust he was showing them, more than he expected from himself. What could have influenced him to be so open towards people who he had never, and would never, meet face to face. Perhaps, it had to do with the terrifying challenge they had recently overcome together. An old comrade from his Enforcer days had once said that nothing bonded people better than 'a life-threatening situation where you only made out by the skin of your teeth.'

However, that didn't stop the nervousness that was bubbling up in his stomach. After all, what were the chances that his story would be believed? From their reactions to Shirou's tale, they had never encountered a situation similar to what they discussed. In other words, while the world outside the game had many technologically advances compared to his, brains in jars were not one of the them.

Before Shirou's thought could be derailed further, however, the group had a reaction outside of pondering. More precisely, Momonga stepped forward.

"I-I believe you!", his avatar remained stoic, but his voice told another story. It was shaky and laden with anxiety. Despite that, there was a strong conviction in his words.

Momonga released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He had said that which he wanted to say the most. Sure, he had stammered, but he had done it. Now, he had to convince the other.

"Y-you…believe me?" Shirou worded it more like a question than a statement.

Hearing this Momonga straightened his back and stood proud. "Yes. I believe you." Momonga repeated, his voice firm and serious.

Not long after the lich's declaration, the others shared their own opinion. It was a mess as each one tried talking over one another. Finally, when the chatter had ebbed away, three factions had been born.

On one side, were Momonga, Peroroncino, Bukubukchagama, and surprisingly Touch Me. In the center were Yamaiko, and Amanomahitotsu whom simply watched everything with a critical eye. Neither accepting or denying such a notion. In the minority, were Ulbert and Tabula. A stare off ensured, each side silently passing judgement on the other.

Finally, the ice was broken.

"You can't be serious." Ulbert statement was deadpan. If he could, he would show them how slack his jaw was. How naive could they be?

"I don't know about the rest, but I'm serious about my decision. EMIYA-san has never lies before and I don't think he would lie to us now!" Ulbert's question was responded by Bukubukchagama. Her voice projected a degree of confident rivaling Momonga's, despite her initial hesitation. Such was the vocal prowess of a voice actress. Of course, that's not to say that underneath her bravado wasn't a river of inquiries regarding EMIYA's story. The interrogation could come later.

"Sis! Don't leave me out like that! You know that I would never doubt EMIYA-sempai!" Peroroncino followed up on his sibling's unintentional challenge. Unlike his family, his response lacked the calm and collectedness. Instead, his tone was juvenile. In his mind, why would his sempai and friend ever need to lie?

"I concur! EMIYA-san has placed his trust in us by speaking truthfully! It is only fair that we respond in kind!", Touch Me's boisterous exclamation tore through the tense atmosphere that had previously been brewing. In his mind, he couldn't see anything wrong with his logic. Those around him were caught flat footed from his over-the-topness. At least most of them.

"You're all crazy…" Ulbert wanted to pull his virtual hair out. After hearing Shirou's story he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but even he thought the idea of Shirou being what amounted to a digital ghost to be way too farfetched. He knew the idiotic Hero of Justice was very trusting, but this was beyond moronic!

"How are you so sure about that? He could just be stringing you around to avoid further questioning." A cold practicality killed off any chances of being interpreted as antagonistic. Tabula decided to play the devil's advocate in this situation, trying to see if their claim were groundless. Unfortunately, they weren't.

"I speak for everyone here, when I say that we believe him. No matter how you look at it, he has always been nothing, but good. To some, he is their savior." as he mentioned this, the others standing behind him lowered their heads. "He has also been a teacher.", all but Peroroncino stood straight, "to others, he is an inspiration," both Momonga and Amanomahitotsu joined Peroroncino. "…but, most importantly, he is our friend!", as he finished his speech, Touch Me followed the others in lowering their heads at the last bit.

Without a word Yamaiko and Amanomahitotsu walked over and joined Shirou's growing group. It was clear where they stood on the matter.

"I-I…Tabula! Come on, use your big brain. Tell these guys that they're crazy!" Ulbert tried to reason.

Said brain eater said nothing. His avatar silence as corpse, his focus and attention never once breaking from Shirou's group.

In the silence that followed, Tabula pondered. While he normally would be more critical of their blind faith, faced with such devotion, he couldn't help agreeing. Hearing Shirou's story did however put plenty of things into context. Context which, if he suspended his disbelief for even a moment, aligned with the situation at hand. That, and he could tell that EMIYA was a good person. Didn't hurt that he shared Tabula's humbleness when it came to power. Speaking in practicality, him lying to them would do him no favors. Especially when it in no way shape or form benefits him and would be more detrimental had he just outright lied.

"I'm still skeptical…but…" Tabula paused, everyone hanging on his every word. "…I shall choose to believe you EMIYA-san. So long as you continue to prove it's no lie." Silently, one more joined group.

"You can't be serious!?" Ulbert shouted at the retreat back of Tabula.

Without turning around, he said this.

 **"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."**

The only one who had yet to be convinced was Ulbert.

He had shaking. His hands were drawn into fists and he seemed moments away from blowing his casket. However, moments before he went ballistic, he gave up. His muscles uncoiled, his back slumped, and a heavily aggravated sigh escaped his lips.

"You know what? You win. Fuck it! Sure, whatever! EMIYA some kind of conscious digital ghost. I don't care one way or another. I'm not going to stand here and argue against a foregone conclusion." With the white flag officially raised, he stepped forward. Only to be dragged into a group hug initiated by Touch Me and Peroroncino. As he was being crushed, he wondered what he did to deserve this fate.

In the center was Shirou, whom was still reeling from the shock of it. At part of him felt numb, that they actually believed him. Another part questioned if it he that was insane for trusting them or them for putting so much trust in him. And a small part of him felt guilty for hiding so much and twisting the truth but he told himself that it was necessary. There was no need for them to learn of the Moonlit World.

In the end, he simply settled for being content with what he had.

"Well that went better than expected…any question?" Shirou thought out loud.

Several hands shot up.

"Yes, Amanomahitotsu-san."

"I've noticed this before, but your avatar seems more lifelike compared to others. Is this a part of the digitalization perhaps?" He asked, unable to mask the curiosity in his voice.

"Your guess is as good as mine. In truth, I'm quite surprise that Zelretch didn't have me modeled as some goblin or something equally hideous." Shirou chuckled.

"So, this is what you look like? I must say, you look quite dashing EMIYA-san. How old are you? Your avatar looks around early to mid-thirties?"

"A bit rude to ask for man's age don't you think Yamaiko-san?" Shirou quipped.

"Hey! Only us girls get to pull that card." Yamaiko retorted, playfully punching his shoulder.

"So, this player model is your actual appearance in real life?" Bukubukchagama suddenly asked. Her tone taking on a higher pitch and almost eager inflection.

"Technically yes. This was what I used to look like." Shirou answered truthfully, there was a period where he resembled Archer to a T. He noted that she sounded very interested all of a sudden.

"Have you ever thought of returning back to your own body again EMIYA-san?" Momonga asked the question they all had in the back of their mind.

Shirou gave a humorless chuckle.

"You already know my story Momonga-san. The circumstances of my life before the transfer were…were not kind to put it lightly. Truth be told…my time here in YGGDRASIL have perhaps been the best I've had in years… And it's thanks to you all. For now, I'm content." He answered truthfully.

"EMIYA-sempai." Peroroncino suddenly called for him.

"Yes?" Shirou gave him his full attention.

He had been uncharacteristically quiet. This was the first time he ever heard the light-hearted Peroroncino sound so serious. A contrast to his normally excited, and perverted self. Even his posture lacked the usual vibrant energy that he always displayed. Shirou wasn't the only that noticed as Momonga and Bukubukchagama casted worried glances towards the out of character tone of their friend.

"If what you said is true, then that means you don't have a real body anymore. R-right?" The avian player voiced cracked near the end, as if he had trouble wrapping his head around such a notion.

This was really starting to worry Shirou.

At this point the others caught onto the sudden mood change.

It was here that he suddenly hugged him from out of nowhere. Peroroncino's arm wrapping around the faker. His shoulders shook and trembled as he clung onto Shirou.

"EMIYA-sempai…To think it was like this…I'm sorry…"

Everyone was thoroughly taken about by all of this. The sheer raw emotion and heartbreak only made it more disconcerting.

Was Shirou's reveal affecting Peroroncino this much?

"Otouto…" Bukubukchagama softly said. "I'm sure everything going be—"

"Everything's not going to be alright!" Peroroncino shouted, taking everyone aback. "You couldn't even fathom what he went through!"

What he went through? What gotten Peroroncino so riled up.

"I-I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't understand. You could never understand something like this nee-san! Surely you too understand EMIYA-sempai plight don't you Momonga-san?!" said the bird heteromorph, turning to his companion.

"I-I…uhh…" was Momonga lame response due to being in the sudden spotlight.

"Peroroncino-san. I think you should calm and explain what you mean." In an attempt to take control of the situation Shirou needed to address the problem immediately.

"Oh my god…. It's already too late." He dropped to his hands and knees. At this point everyone nerves were shot, each one on the proverbial edge.

"Of all people, why did have to be EMIYA-sempai!" He exclaimed, a fist hitting the floor.

"Peroroncino-san! I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong! Please! We're worried." Shirou cried out, shaking the avian player from his stupor.

"It's…" He began.

"It's what…? You can tell me."

"It's your…"

"My what? What is it Peroroncino?" Shirou slowly coaxed the answer out of him.

"Your **penis** is gone!"

 ** _skrrreeek_**

In the background Shirou swore he heard a record scratch. The tense and almost depressing atmosphere disappearing in milliseconds. If it were possible Shirou's, along with everyone's jaw would hit the floor in record time.

He had no words. He was truly left speechless at what he heard.

What truly made it all the more surreal was that Shirou was fairly certain that Peroroncino was being absolutely serious. It certainly fitted the bill.

Uncaring of how stunned everyone was at his insane declaration he continued.

"To never know the pleasure of the flesh no more! To never feel the rush, the euphoria of a huge masturbation cession after a long day's work. To never feel a fire in your loins, threatening to break you and challenge your resolve. To never eye the female form and feel tingling in your third leg! Could fate be any crueler?! OHHH EMIYA-sempai, it's a fate worse than death!" He wept.

"Otouto…" The elder said in an obviously fake sing-song voice. "…You had us all worried… FOR SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THAT?!" as her sentence progressed so too did her inflection of her voice.

"It's not stupid!" Peroroncino shouted with righteous indignation. "Girls like you would never understand us!"

"What did you just imply little brother." Politely asked Bukubukchagama, her voice as cold and unforgiving as an arctic wasteland.

Common sense must've snapped back into place as Peroroncino slowly backed away from his sister. He didn't get very far before she lunged at him and proceeded to discipline him. In other words, beat the ever-living snot out of him.

"Ow! Nee-san! Stop, ouch, stop it!"

"You idiot! We were all worried over nothing!"

"Hey! Ouch. This is a big deal for all of us! You're just mad now that you can't ask EMIYA-sempai out like you wanted to!"

"Shut up!" The slime's attack only grew wilder as her voice cracked for a second there.

"Although thinking about, if we go by EMIYA-sempai avatar, he's at least a decade older than you… No wonder why you were looking in those categories of my porn sites. You're into DILF's!" Peroroncino suddenly exclaimed as if he uncovered a massive revelation.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT up! SHUT up! SHUT UP!" Her voice only got more hysteric like a shrieking banshee, trying to drown out her perverted brother's words and keep what little dignity that was left hidden.

While all of this was going on the rest of the party was watching with deadpan looks in their eyes.

"All in favor of pretending this did not happen?"

"Aye." A unanimous agreement.

Despite all of that spontaneous laughter broke out amongst the group. No one was sure who laughed first, but it quickly spread amongst the players. Even Ulbert got a few chuckles in.

"Today's been a hectic day, what with all that was revealed. There'll be plenty of time to ask EMIYA-san question in the future." Touch Me took charge situation.

Shirou nodded, agreeing and giving him his consent. The others still had their questions but those can be answered at another time.

"Moving on, I'm sure everyone's curious about the fight and loot." said Shirou, grateful for a change in topic.

"How were the loot drop?" Amanomahitotsu asked with barely concealed excitement.

"Well…" Shirou began, his tone smug and the group got the impression he was grinning. "You can determine that for yourselves." Operating his menu an avalanche of items and material flowed forth. Literally.

The flood gate was open, and all manner of loot spilled onto the ground. Once more, the group were stunned, but in a good way. By the end the floor was littered with the loot. Roughly 250 odd Legendary grade data crystals with another 200 Divine grade data crystals. That wasn't considering the previous sum they mined in the cave. In total, bringing up the total sum to be roughly 325 Legendary crystal and 265 Divine tier crystal.

It wasn't just data crystals but also a massive variety of miscellaneous items, like armors, weapons, potions, shields, accessories, grimoires, tomes, ores, fine silk, crafting material, various rare metals, gems, and so on. All of varying high tier quality. Lastly was the literal mountain of gold that piled up on the side that was as tall as Shirou and nearly three time in width and size.

The group was silent, even the sibling duo stopped in favor of gaping at the sight before them.

Shirou, content to simply watch did just that.

The group wasted no time in diving out the reward to each member. Shirou also gave back the dropped equipment of each of the party member as to not forget. The gold was split evenly amongst the player, but that was secondary compared to the true prize. It took some time, roughly half an hour to be exact, of distributing and bargaining with one another over who got what and how many.

For Momonga, Peroroncino, and Bukubukchagama they did not need the high tier data crystals as much compared to the others. Being friends with Shirou had its perks, thanks to him and his generous nature he often gave away high tier data crystals liberally. Hence why the three were fine with taking the other drops in place of the crystals.

The rest split the data crystals evenly.

For Amanomahitotsu, he was more than content to take the rare ores, and metal for future smithing projects.

Touch Me took an interest in the various weapons, and accessories that provides various boosts in his stats. Yamaiko was much the same, seeking to boost or upgrade any of her current equipment.

Tabula took an interest in the various high-grade potions and crafting materials and ingredients. Being an alchemist, the wanted to experiment to see what he could make.

Ulbert readily picked out the various tomes, grimoires and books within the pile. As a powerful magic caster, he was always looking to expand his arsenal of destruction.

Even Shirou got his fair share, taking what remained of the loot, which was a significant portion as a form of gratitude from the party. After all, they wouldn't even be distributing said prize were it not for the virtual player's success. With the group high on their victory and prizes Shirou slowly slinked his way out of sight and towards the teleporters. Midway he stopped and stood there silent as a grave.

"EMIYA-san?" Momonga spoke, drawing attention back to him as his backs was turned towards them.

With his back to them they only saw his shoulder hunching before relaxing. It looked to be he was taking a moment to compose himself.

"Everyone, I wasn't being completely honest when I said that was all the loot. There was actually one other drop that I didn't show you all." Shirou admitted.

"One loot drop? That doesn't sound so consequential EMIYA-san." Replied Tabula.

"It is when it's a World Class item."

The group was rendered momentarily shocked at the news. The fact that their friend was hiding one of the most powerful items in the entire game hit them a few seconds later.

"Bastard! You were holding out on us!" Ulbert accused.

"Ulbert-san! Let us first hear him out. Surely he must have an explanation for his actions." Touch Me defended.

Their gaze returned back and this time Shirou lowered his head in shame.

"It…the item wasn't just any random World Class item. I knew of it and it…"

"It reminded you of your sister, didn't it?" finished Tabula. The story of Shirou's sister still fresh in his mind. If Berserker belonged to his sister as he had said, and the item was linked to the boss. Well, it wasn't hard to put one and one together. It would stand to reason why he would be reluctant on giving it up.

Shirou nodded.

"See Ulbert-san. He didn't hide away the World Class item because he selfishly wanted it for himself but because it holds sentimental value to him." Touch Me readily provided.

Ulbert grumbled, not entirely satisfied but he didn't push the issue.

I'm sorry." Shirou apologized. "I-I…wasn't too sure if you would well take it away or store in a vault somewhere."

"I understand, I truly do EMIYA-san." Touch Me patted the humanoid player on his shoulder. His words holding no true scorn only understanding. "While is it a bit disheartening for you to think so little of us that we would try and take away something you clearly worked for and earn, even if it's a World Class item we do understand your concern. No this, you have nothing to fear. But do give us the benefit of the doubt from now on."

The others gave reassuring nods. Showing that they weren't too upset his deception.

"Thank you…I'll try."

"Good man! Now then, if it's not too much trouble would you mind if we catch a glimpse at the World Class item?" Touch Me requested. His voice betraying the tinge of excitement at the opportunity. The others were equally interested, their stares also eager. Even Ulbert, whom was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed was interested despite how much he tried making it seemed he wasn't.

Opening his menu screen, his mind flashed back to the battles' end with Berserker.

 ** _[Flashback Begins]_**

 _Light met Darkness and the world was enveloped in white. A clash of almost biblical proportion. Caliburn pure burst of prana versus the entire force of darkness. In the end Caliburn won, cutting through it all. The darkness was consumed, the light eating away at the corrupted taint. As the light faded Shirou was treated to an amazing sight._

 _Everything was restored, the once tarnished and near destroyed cavern was completely fixed. The floor, walls, and ceiling unblemished. The once dried crystal-clear lake filled with sparkling water._

 _Lastly was Berserker in its original physical form._

 _Shirou's body tensed but noted something immediately. Unlike its previous iteration there was no sign of madness or darkness. The servants simply stood there contently._

 _What truly convinced him was its eyes. The mad servant's eye was no longer a baleful crimson. Rather, they resemble actual eyes with a white sclera, a pale golden iris, and a black pupil. Berserker no longer appeared to be a mad beast but instead stood with dignity and grace of a warrior of its legend._

 _Heracles._

 _Its form wispy and transparent similar to when a servant enters its astral form. As the two stared at one another Shirou was treated to another surprise. Berserker inclined his head to the magus, recognizing him and thanking him. With that the servant disappeared._

 ** _[Congratulation!]_**

 _There it was, a congratulation screen. They had done it. Shirou left out a shuddering breath that he didn't realize he was holding._

 ** _[You have cleared the Titan's Crystal Cavern! For conquering this perilous Arena along with defeating both bosses on your first try, and with a with a party less than 12 players a 70% increase in loot drop will be given as reward.]_**

 _Read the screen._

 _As the screen had promise loot materialized from the sky and dropped like rain droplets. Glittering coins falling and bouncing, joining them were a plethora of items and equipment, but none stood out more than the numerous shinning data crystals._

 _Taken aback by the sheer quality and quantity of items Shirou turned away but froze as he looked upon something else, something that wasn't there previously._

 _Where once the phantom Berserker stood, something else occupied the space._

 _Shirou's eyes ignored everything and his body walked over to it. His hand outstretched but warily to the touch. Biting the bullet, he grabbed it. Even as he held it within the palm of his hands, he still couldn't believe it…_

 _It was a card._

 _Not just any card. No. It was…_

 ** _[Flashback End]_**

 **[Berserker Class Card – World Class Item]**

Shirou found what he was looking for. Appearing, floating and rotating harmlessly in the palm of his hand was the very same card from cavern. The card was golden, depicting a humanoid beast of a man with the head of a monstrous hound wielding a large sword. The card had fluttering special particle effects that sparkled with a myriad of colors. It was almost as if he held a miniature rainbow in his hand.

They were enraptured by the card, their minds spinning on what possible powerful and broken abilities it might contained.

"So? What does it do EMIYA-sempai?" giddily asked Peroroncino.

"That's the thing, I don't know."

"Huh?" The players said in unison.

"What do you mean EMIYA-san? Does it have some time of condition for it to be used?" Momonga questioned.

"No, it literally cannot be used. There are no console command or activation index for me to activate. Nor does the item provide me with any descriptions or flavor text. It's just…a card." Shirou finished lamely.

"There's no way that can be true." Tabula shook his head at the absurdity of it all.

"It's the truth, here you can give it a try if you still don't believe me." Shirou handed over the World Class item to the skeptical eldritch player.

The next minute or so Tabula was doing any and everything he could, seeing if he could somehow unlock the card's ability. But to no avail. It was just like Shirou had said, there was no way or indication for it to be used or activated. It looked to be just a card of all things. The World Class item was passed around, every member trying their hand only for them to be met with similar results as their comrades. Last was Ulbert, whom let out a frustrated growl.

"The hell! Damn shitty devs, what idiot design a World Class item of all things and have it just a plain card with no abilities! If the World Class item is really just a useless card, then EMIYA can have it for all I care." Handing the worthless item back to Shirou the arch demon marched on off.

With nothing left for them the rest of the group disbanded and went their separate ways. For Shirou, his gaze remained transfixed on the card he couldn't help but wonder. He was indeed curious of the card's true purpose but that took backseat to a more pressing matter.

Namely, what was Zelretch's game in all of this.

If Berserker was within YGGDRASIL than it would stand to reason other servants may be included as bosses. Lancer, Rider, Assassin, and so on.

If that was true then would that mean there would also be a Saber as well, wouldn't there?

"What are you up to Zelretch?"

 ** _Kaleidoscope HQ_**

Speaking of said Dead Apostle Sorcerer, he was currently in a board room meeting. While everyone was sitting together on a long table, Zelretch sat at the back in an adjacent desk, his feet resting on his desk. Why did he have a desk in a board room? Because he could and anyone that says otherwise got pranked by the vampire. Complaints died down after the last manager was sent to a psych-ward screaming something about rubber ducks.

He held a bored expression as he listened to the investors and shareholders rattle on and on about losing profit. As the dull meeting droned on a sudden ringing interrupted the cession. The various workers looked to one another, trying to figure out who the ringing belongs to. It didn't take long before they figured out the source.

The ringing was coming from Zelretch. The vampire casually picked his phone from his pocket, an extremely old flip phone of all things, and flicked it open.

Like switch being flipped on Zelretch entire bored demeanor evaporated. He straightened up in his chair, a smile stretched from ear to ear formed. A deep chuckle rumbled from his throat.

"It seems it has begun much sooner than expected." Zelretch cryptically said.

"Umm…Sir?" One of the employees gathered enough courage asked. "Is everything alright…?"

Zelretch smiled. His pearly white canines on full display.

If anything, this only unnerved them even further. Everyone began sweating bullets. The only time Zelretch ever looked that happy was when he was pranking someone. And not any ordinary prank but ones that would leave grown men to weep like a child.

"Yes. Everything is going according to plan."

Everyone in the room would later swear it was a trick of the light but his eyes twinkled and glowed a frightening crimson.

* * *

 **Omake 1 (Continuation from Chapter 3 omake) - The Ultimate Noble Phantasm (Inspired by RedBurningDragon)**

It was a long and hard fought battle, but they've managed to whittle down Berser-Car's health down to zero. Coincidentally, Berserker also reverted back to his original form. Strangely enough Illya too disappeared.

Shirou unfortunately did have any more time to wonder on this as a new voice made itself known.

 _"Oh my, Berserker-kun is in quite the pickle isn't he? How will he stand up to these bullies?!"_

A soft female voice rang. What remained of the party looked to one another, it wasn't any of them so who was this sudden narrator?

Also, bullies? They were the bullies?

"Is anyone hearing this or is it just me?" Asked Tabula.

 _"These bullies are strong but you cannot give up Berserker-kun! Show these meanies just how strong you really are! With the Power of Friendship Berserker-kun will prevail. It's time for his ultimate attack!"_

Meanies? There was something seriously wrong with the situation if a Heroic Spirit was the victim in all of this.

Secondly, Ultimate attack?! There was more to Berserker?

A surge of energy exploded from Berserker drawing all focus from the group. He held out his hand as motes of light formed and condensed, similar to Shirou and his tracing.

"Is he summoning a weapon?"

A weapon appeared. One like no other. And one neither he nor the others could prepare for.

Lancer. Literally. In Berserker's hand was Lancer, or more accurately Cú Chulainn in strangely enough, in a Hawaiian shirt.

 _'With Lancer-kun helping you out, you'll beat back those meanies! Go Berserker-kun!'_

Berserker then proceeded to charge at Touch Me, whom raised his shield in defense. Lancer slammed into the shield and instead of bouncing off like realism would dictate Lancer instead broke through and reduced Touch Me's HP to zero.

Had the situation been different he would found such a sight hilarious. Instead, he simply stood and watch with disbelief as Berserker continued his rampage defeating the rest of his party one by one with a weaponized lancer. Finally it was only him and Berserker left.

 _'You did it Berserker-kun! But it's not over just yet!'_ The narrator continued. _"Now you must fight against the evil boss that led the bullies into your cave invited and started beating you up!'_

Hey! He wasn't evil, although she technically wasn't lying about the last part but that wasn't the full context of the situation!

 _'This villain is tough, that's why you need your ultimate attack! Go Berserker-kun! Defeat him with the power of friendship!'_

Berserker bellowed. Holding Lancer with both hands it then hurled Lancer at Shirou.

'Bzzzt!'Bzzzt!'Bzzzt!'Bzzzt!'

A splitting headache assaulted the faker. The only time this has ever happened when he gaze upon a weapon or Noble Phantasm that his Unlimited Blade Work cannot comprehend or copy.

Did that mean this was something beyond the scope of his Reality Marble?!

Lancer began to spun, getting faster and faster and emitting a light. A perpetual centripetal force, growing faster and stronger each passing second.

"Huh?! What's with this unknown Noble Phantasm—" And just like the rest Shirou too was defeated.

Along within the cavern, Berserker roared in victory.

 _'Ohh? Berserker-kun, aren't you forgetting something.'_

Berserker stopped and turned around. Berserker calmly walked over and pulled the dead body of Lancer from the pile of rocks and ruins. It then continued it's previous victory celebration, only now waving the dead and broken body of Lancer in the air like a victory flag.

 _'You didn't forget about Lancer-kun!'_

 _'After all, friends are really important to Berserker-kun!'_

 **Omake 2 - An Unspeakable Monster (Just after the completion Blackened Berserker formation.) (Inspired By Dante)**

As the massive pool of tar and ink slowly took form and shape into Berserker, a small amount of the viscous black ooze broke off and floated in front to the Servant caricature.

While Shirou was curious, he kept focused on completely tracing Caliburn for the battle to come.

Had he payed more attention he would seen the orb of ooze slowly recede and disappear, and something colorful taking it's place.

"Oh, I'm finally free!" A feminine high pitched voice suddenly exclaimed.

Shirou's entire body went rigid. His heartbeat quickened, goosebumps ran all along his arms and neck, his lips and mouth drying and becoming arid.

Turning Shirou's fears were realized. There, floating in mid air was a nondescript pink wand. The head of the wand was fashioned in a star with three petal like wings extending from both sides of the wand. On the surface it appeared nonthreatening, but Shirou knew the truth. The horrifying truth of what that _thing_ was capable of.

 **[Kaleidostick Ruby]**

Then the unthinkable happened. Berserker's massive hand grasped the wand and it started to glow.

"It's time to show you the power of a Magical Girl!"

Before their very eyes Berserker underwent a magical girl transformation scene. Complete with flashing light, unexpected cheery music and woven pinkish bands and colours, clinging to Berserker before transforming into articles of clothing.

Time in fact did not stop during Magical Girls transformation sequences, thus leaving the party free to move and act accordingly.

Of course that begs the question, while this was going on, why didn't the party simply attack Berserker while it was thoroughly preoccupied.

The answer was simple: they were so stunned and horrified that they couldn't do anything but watch. Like a horrible traffic accident, they just couldn't simply look away.

In a bright flash of light Berserker appeared in a new form. Berserker's new appearance would forever scar the magus's psyche.

Pink.

That was all the player could make out, frilly pink clothing contrasting with Berserker's blackened iron skin. Pink gloves that stretched to his elbows, high heeled pink stockings, a frilly tutu around his waist, a small fluttering cape adoring his back, lastly the kaleidostick was enlarged. Its new size made its previous one look like a toothpick.

It was horrible. Everything else remained the same from Berserker's bulging physique to it's terrifying snarling face. The only thing was different was the out of character clothing it wore that only enhanced it's already nightmarish appearance.

As pink energy continued to build and gather, the rest of the players simply stood around, and waited.

What else could they do after seeing such a horrendous sight that would leave even Dead Apostles Ancestors shaking in terror.

As it fired they welcomed Death with open arms.

With all its enemies dead and gone Berserker struck the universal magical girl pose, a hand on its hip and another raising Ruby high into the air.

 ** _Meanwhile at Kaleidoscope HQ_**

The door to Zelretch's office was kicked open by none other than the disgruntled employee that had the misfortune of being the main manager for his division of programmers. He walked in, there sat Zelretch playing a game of chess. Who was the secret Magician playing against? A stuff toyed. Or specifically, a giant pinked stuff unicorn.

He chose to ignore that in favor of keeping his sanity.

"Hoh? Dayne? A bit rude just to kick down the door don't you think? Mr. Fiddle and I were having a nice little game." nonchalantly commented the vampire.

Instead of remarking yet another incorrect address of his name, he simply tossed his tablet onto the table for Zelretch to see. On it was the final stage of Berserker. With a wand. A pink wand. In a horrifying pink magical girl outfit.

"Sir. What the absolute fuck..." was all the employee could say.

"... I'll double your salary."

"Are you bribing me sir?"

"Triple."

"..."

"Quadruple. And that's my fine offer."

He was probably going to regret this, but then again he started regretting this entire venture a long, long time ago.

"...I'll see what can be done."

"Good man! I knew I can count on you Zeke. Tell me when it's finished!" The vampire happily waved goodbye before getting serious with his game of chess with an inanimate pink stuff toy.

He didn't even dignified a response and quietly left the room.

As he walked on by, his fellow managers all turned to one another.

"Man, he's sure been coming in and out of Zelretch's office an awful lot."

"Yea, especially with how he's running him ragged."

"Poor Mark."

"Wait, I thought his name was Thomas?"

"No, it's Anthony!"

"Actually...now that I think about it, what is his name?"

They looked to one another once more, and come to one rather startling, but not really, realization. They didn't know their own colleagues real name. To that, they simply shrugged in a 'what are you going to do' universal gesture and continued on their work.

It was confirmed later that night that said forgotten employee spent most of his pay on drowning out his sorrow with plenty of booze.

* * *

 **Total Word Count: 20,850**

 **I would also like to take this moment and thank everyone that has been kind and supportive over my long break. I probably sound like a broken record but I still can't believe just how popular this story has evolved. Seriously, in just four months we went from about** **1k Faves and 1.2K Follows to 1.6 favs and almost 2K follows! It boggles my mind that my little idea of story seems to be so well-received that it still gets to me every time I look back on it. We're rank 4 out of all the Overlord story crossover, though that would be more due to lack of competition on that part, but hey I'm not complaining.**

 **Jokes aside,** **thank you all very much for your kind support.**

 **Expect Chapter 5 to be uploaded sometime this week, most likely Friday.**


	6. The Birth of Ainz Ooal Gown

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **Hey! As I had promised, here's the second chapter. This one quite struggle to write as this chapters marks where we'll be diving into the actual canon material of Overlord. Namely the Overlord Prologue LN special. As I've said in the past I was never really one to ride** **familiar** **grounds when it comes to the canon material. So I wanted to try my own style and take on the canon material as so I don't just copy what the original Prologue did and just have Shirou tacked on to the story. Again that's not just my style and to me that's just horrendously boring and lazy if there's no innovation.**

 **I would highly suggest you read the Overlord Prologue LN special first and foremost before actually diving into mine. As this chapters covers part 1 while chapter 6 covers part 2 of the special. It would certainly help to compare and contrast the two and see where my story takes it.**

 **I would also suggest reading the extensive and more in depth Author's notes that will be at the very bottom for a better understanding of some of the scenes within the chapter, why I chose them and why I wrote what I did.**

 **With that said and done with, do enjoy the chapter!**

 **Thank you to Cloud Link Zero and Dante Evans for their help and betaing the chapter.**

 **Beta'd: Cloud Link Zero and Dante Evans**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Ainz Ooal Gown**

 **December 28th, 2132. World: Niflheim. The Fields of Ever Frost. Recommended level: 90-95**

Within the myth of Yggdrasil, the World Tree bore nine realms, each unique and all served an important role. The realm of Nifheim was located with the roots of the World Tree. It was said that the frozen realm was one of the first or the first realm that came into existence. In old Norse the name Niðavellir meant mist world. The entire realm was uninhabited, a desolate world filled with nothing but cold and mist. Vast stretches of land empty. It was this realm for which all the rivers that existed through the nine realms originated from.

The world of Nifheim within YGGDRASIL reflected its barren origin. The playable world one of the most barren of all nine playable realms. Forever trapped within winter. A near frozen landscape with little to few plains and ranges that escape the icy grips of the world. Fog and mist permeate roughly 70% of the surrounding area, making travel extreme challenging and dangerous. Hiding all manner of landmarks and POPs within the veil of darkness.

This continues as one travels further and further out large mountain and plateaus decorate the rockier ventures.

Within the world of Niflheim, near the edge of the realm lies The Fields of Ever Frost. An area said to have an everlasting winter. A fitting theme for the realm of the ice.

What made this area unique was that for most of the year it was inaccessible through normal means. Players cannot normally traverse the lands as there's always a blizzard storm preventing players from even making it. Anyone caught in the storm would be inflicted with several status aliment such as [Hypothermia], and [Frostbite]. It didn't matter if they came prepared with articles of clothing or items to reduce the effects, the storm would weather them down regardless. There was only one time where the area was accessible.

For a single month, specifically December, the never-ending blizzard came to a halt and laid its secrets bare to all the players. Allowing them access to the mysterious land, but only for a short time.

The trip to The Fields of Ever Frost was an investment, as any party of group that wishes to enter must make the trip manually. There were little in the ways of safe zones along the path. It's has been recorded that it would take two hours just to reach the fields. And that's not accounting for any possible encounters and trekking through the hazardous and rocky landscapes. A party would need to prepare weeks, if not a month in advance to gather all the gold and equipment necessary to make the trip. It was a perilous journey, but a worthwhile one.

The best way to describe the area was a winter wonderland.

Snow lazily fell from the virtual sky above, clear and shinning with hundreds of stars this night.

The Fields, or as it should be more aptly called a forest stretched far and wide. The entire forest was made out of pine trees as snow decorating the forest and land white. A pristine and frozen world forever trapped in time in winter. Within the area lay host to a wide variety of monsters' unseen within any of the other nine realms, and thus contain special loot drops. In addition to various plants, and animals. Old and decrepit ruins of towns dotted the land. A seeming reminder of what they were once were before the frozen storm left nothing but ruins.

Perhaps the most eye catching of the entire area was a lone rocky cliff at the center of the Field. A rocky landmass, as if it shot up from the earth. On said land mass was a massive gothic castle built precariously on the cliff overlooking everything.

With how thin and narrow the cliff side was it would be impossible for such a structure to remain perfectly situated, yet it was. It stood there, a monument for all to see.

A stone bridge connects to the bottom of the mountain and leads directly to the front gates. It was obvious to anyone that the castle was an explorable dungeon.

The last interesting feature was a giant stone statue of some creature. To most players it would look like an intimidating boss or creature. Most simply ignore it, assuming its was simply part of the esthetic.

A statue of Type-Mercury.

Standing at the massive open gates to the castle was a lone player wearing a full body fur coat. There he stood, his attention solely on the statue as the harsh wind blew against him.

"Figured one of them would be here. Question is…" He looked away and toward the opened doors of the castle. "Which one…"

Without another word the player slowly walked into the castle.

* * *

The majority of the castle interior was desolate, void of any and all life. Broken furniture and dimly lit hallways welcomed the inhabitant, resembling an abandon palace. Dust and debris litter the ground. Numerous cracks along the stone walls and interior allowed the harsh cold wind of the outside to seep in. The biting cold of the frozen outside only reinforced the notion that the castle was abandoned a long time ago.

Residing in the many empty shadowy hallways was a small group; no more than three players all huddled together. The three all wore large winter coat, a necessary item to prevent any of the cold from affecting them. Namely the frostbite status effect from reducing their movement speed and continuous damage that comes with it.

"How many did we lose?" One of the players requested. In his hand he wielded a massive greatsword with blue veins running down the weapon. Underneath his coat was a set of bright blue armor. He was a Rune Knight.

 **Vigur Loust: Lvl – 100**

"I've just received a message from the others, they died as well. We're all that's left, Vig." Answered one of his companions, a large player wielding an equally large bagpipe. Underneath his cloak he wore a tunic and breeches. He was the bard of the group.

 **Areo Instrument: Lvl – 100**

"Fuck!" The player cursed, slamming a fist against the wall in frustration.

"What should we do?" meekly asked their third member. A female priestess going by the steel staff with a cross at the top and holy garbs underneath her coat. The party's remaining healer.

 **FullofJoy: Lvl – 100**

"We move on. We can't go back because of those damn things, so all we can do now is keep on pushing forward." Responded the Rune Knight. The remaining two players shared a reluctant look but followed their leader's lead. It wasn't like they had much of a choice in the matter.

In the beginning they came into the castle a full clan, a total of 30 players all together. The clan had been planning this trip for three weeks. Gathering enough supplies and equipment to make the trip to The Fields of Ever Frost with the intention of conquering the castle dungeon and reap the rewards. They made the journey with minimal causality and resources wasted and breezed through forest to reach the castle.

The clan was prepared for anything, ready to tackle the previously unclaimed dungeon in their name. They had brought everything they could to grant them every advantage they would need from facing multiple POP's to a boss at the end of their trek. Unfortunately, they weren't as prepared as they thought.

Opening the impressive double doors they were greeted to a single NPC standing within the middle of the room. And not just a standard NPC or POP monster as well. But the dungeon's boss right off the bat.

As if they were waiting for them.

 **Assassin: Lvl – 125**

The boss was draped in a thick and flowing black rag like cowl that hid most of its body and form. Its body was rather large in width contrasting with its other anatomy. The only thing that was made visible was it rather eerie skull mask with its eyes narrowed into slits. Granting the spectre like boss an eerie and haunting first impression.

Many were confused to see the boss of the dungeon to be their first enemy of all things. They were weary of course, as this was perhaps the first time in YGGDRASIL history that a dungeon opened up with the boss as the first enemy instead of reserving it for the final battle. While unorthodox, it wasn't too outlandish to comprehend why. The boss's level also gave them some pause as its level was rather lacking. Especially for a dungeon as massive in size as the castle was. They had expected the boss to be Dungeon or Raid boss with an appropriate level.

Whether or not this was an attempt at the devs throwing something out of left field to catch the players off guard, they wouldn't be swayed. The surprise and shock disappeared as they coordinated themselves. Whatever the situation was, they would deal with it swiftly and efficiently. The group immediately launched themselves into battle, ready to slay the boss.

To their growing surprise and stupefaction the boss was extremely capable. Able to allude them even with a coordinate team chasing after it. Assassin proved extremely nimble, disappearing and reappearing to avoid any form of attacks or CC (Crowd Control) spells. The battle soon divulged into a game of cat and mouse as the group tried desperately to pin down the illusive boss. They managed to trap it long enough where one player managed to attack the boss and seemingly 'kill' it after piercing the cloak NPC with his spear.

The attack speared through the cloak but never the body. As the player spear pierced the blackened cloak it seemingly enlarged itself and entangled the boss as the player's spear pushed all the way through. Pulling back, the group was treated to a sight of the bosses ruined cloak but not the body.

Somehow the Assassin managed to disappear and escape.

That was when things took a turn for the worst. Appearing from the shadows were copies of the boss they had fought hunting them down. Multiple version of the boss spontaneously appeared and hunted them down relentlessly. It didn't matter how many they killed, a new one would take its place. None of them were the original going by the varying differences between each one such as height, length, build, and so on. Vigur was pretty sure a few were females if the lumps on their chests were any indication.

If that wasn't enough, they were soon shepherd away from one another as numerous copies of the boss swarmed and surrounded them. Effectively splitting off the party from one another. Separated, the groups of the players were forced to move and retreat further into the castle lest they fall to the dozen of sharpened daggers. With no way of backtracking and regrouping, the party was forced along a path, all the while fending off attacks from the Assassin boss like pesky flies.

Divided from one another they were slowly backed into a corner. Random attacks made it so that the players did not have a moment of rest. And no matter how many times they kill the copies of Assassin they would not stop. Now, their once proud party of 30 was reduced to a mere tenth of their initial strength. They were forced to continually make their way forward, or in this case up the varying floors of the castle.

The most accepted hypothesis was that the boss was a Mob Boss. The term was coined to describe bosses that rely on summons and aids during the fight. Typically, bosses like these were relatively lower in level compared high end dungeon bosses to balance out the addition of other more weaker POPs joining the fight. Usually mini bosses of some kind or a powered-up version of basic monsters. These were usually the most annoying of any boss battles as the fighting can range anywhere from a few enemies to dozens. And, the fight wouldn't be over until the main perpetrator was defeated. A not so easy task to accomplish what with the situation where said minions' function as improv meat shields for the boss.

Carefully making their way up, the group was vigilant for anything. They've had run in with the shadowy boss appearing literally anywhere at any time, striking without warning. At this point it wasn't too far off to say they were jumping at shadows.

They continued, each watching one another's back. They arrived at a converging hallway with a large set of doors at the end. Opening it, the group shambled into a what they could only describe to be a throne room.

The room was expansive, roughly 200 meters in length and width, allowing for plenty of space and maneuverability. Much like the rest of the castle it appears as if no one has entered the room in years.

The moon's glow shined through the window, a poor substitute for proper lighting but it illuminated enough to where they weren't completely blind. Several large pillars were erected within the room, holding up the ceiling. Various tapestries and painting were torn and ruined, collecting dust along the walls. At the end of the room was an empty, rusted and dirtied throne.

A fitting boss arena if he ever saw one.

As if called upon by his thoughts numerous shadows appeared from every nook and cranny. Now that they were in a room with relatively better lighting Vigur scowled, none of the Assassin present was the original. They numbered roughly two dozen, all armed with daggers. Without any fanfare they charged straight at the players.

"[Rune Burst]!" Vigur slammed his sword down, striking the ground and calling forth a burst of blue energy at the oncoming enemies. He struck a clean blow but like the previous attempts it did nothing as for every single assassin they took down, another would simply take its place.

The rune knight noticed one of the assassin's wasn't attacking, simply content to say in the back. Upon closer inspection he realized that it was the same one from the very beginning.

"There's the main body! You guys, boost me!"

"[Bardic Inspiration], [Bestow Blessing], [Youthful Melody], [Song of Requirement], [Noble Blessing]!"

Enhanced by his friends spell the knight bolted forward.

"[Speed Rune Activate]!"

Green runes lit up along his legs granting him further speed. Bypassing the fodder, he charged directly at the main body. He swung his sword downwards but Assassin jumped at the last possible second, avoiding the killing blow. His weapon slammed down onto the pavement, the floor cracked, sending dust and concrete everywhere.

Vigur gave chase, not intending to let the boss out of his sight.

A couple of the copy Assassin broke off to intercept to the charging knight.

"Out of my way!"

With finesse Vigur swung his sword, easily cleaving through the bodies of the duplicate bosses. However, a couple of them managed to damage him before they expired, their daggers lashing out when close. He pointedly ignored his HP dropping into the low green in favor the boss right in front of him.

"[Runic Air Burst]!"

His sword glowed a brilliant azure and he swung the weapon in the direction of Assassin. The air popped and cracked with runic energy, exploding outwards. The attack proved quick enough that Assassin couldn't dodge completely, grazing the boss and taking a small chunk of its HP. The skill also served as secondary purpose as the cloak was ripped to shreds, revealing its true appearance.

Now that the cloak was gone the boss full appearance was on display. Its body was much more lithe and lengthy compared to the other copies to an unnatural and uncanny proportion. The only interesting of note was its disproportional right hand, bound completely by black wrapping and leather.

Confidence swelled within the Rune knight after seeing his attack successfully landed. With another charge he once again activated [Runic Air Burst] only for Assassin to shimmer and disappear just before the attack connected.

"Where did it go?!" Vigur exclaimed.

"Over there!" Pointed Areo.

Turning, the player found his target at the end of the room. Before he could close the distance, a sinister orange glow radiated from beneath its bounds. Wind picked up, and the tightly bound wrappings flickered and loosened up. Assassin looked up, making eye contact with Vigur. Assassin rushed towards him like a speeding bullet. Far faster than he could expect to reasonable dodge or react, the player braced himself.

However, before Assassin was in range for the player it struck. A glowing orange broke free from its binding. The various black bounds and straps flowing freely and slithered around the limb, adding to its creepy factor. The arm for which the binding hid was monstrously long, practically double in length as its regular one. The monstrous limb twisted and turn, bypassing the knight's meager defense and pierced his chest.

 **[Zabaniya – Delusional Heartbeat]!**

Retracting the arm faster than Vigur could react, the last thing the knight saw was the boss holding an image of a beating heart before forming a fist and crushing it. Blood poured forth and dripped down the horrifying limb. Faster than Vigur could even blink his HP hit zero and he soon died right after, leaving his remaining two companions to fight all by their lonesome.

The horrifying limb contorted and coiled back into its binding, ready to be take another life. Assassin relaxed his stance and was content to stay back while the other copies of itself slowly swarmed and cornered the two frightened players.

"What are we going do now!?" FullofJoy panicked, her entire form shuddering and shaking.

Areo grimaced. At this point, nothing.

What little hope they had at escaping or winning was completely throne out the window now that their leader and only form of damage was dead and gone. In fact he knew they were done for a while back but kept his tongue. Neither of them posses any form of offensive magic or attack, leaving them literally useless in the faces of the multiple assassins.

The raid was a bust.

It was why as one of the assassins charged at the bard he did nothing but wait. They were already defeated, so why delay the inevitable?

The player sighed, bracing himself as he wondered which of his precious equipment would be dropped for this death.

The assassin's dagger lashed out, fully intending to finish the bard off only for something to skewer it and send it flying into the walls and explode for good measure.

It wasn't just the one as several more blurs shot forward, killing any and all Assassin's close to the two players.

"What the…"

"Huh?"

"Are you all alright?" A voice asked. Both players turned to see a new player that'd they never seen before entering the throne room. He too wore a winter coat to resist the environmental aliments, leaving only his face visible to the two remaining players. He strolled confidently in, unafraid of the numerous same faced assassins. His eyes remained focus on the small army of Assassins.

He wanted to ask the new player just when and where he came from but from Aero's peripheral vision, he caught an orange glow, the same glow that killed their friend. Turing, he saw Assassin rushing towards them as the binding on his arms released the demonic hand.

"Oh no! Don't get hit by that or else it's an instakill!" The bard warned.

The mysterious saver was the first to act, jumping in front of them all.

"Trace on!" From his hands lighting erupted before it extended and took of the form of weapon. Aero's first thought it was spear but it unfurled itself revealing that it was a flag instead. Primarily coloured white and gold, the flag held a radiance to it that Bard couldn't properly put into words.

 **"Luminosité Eternelle!"** Twirling the flag, he planted on the ground straight up. Golden light sprang forth from the flag illuminating all within the room with a blinding light. The golden rays encircled them, forming a barrier of light.

 **[Zabaniya – Delusional Heartbeat]**

Assassin's attack continued, jetting towards the group with the intent to take another life. The glowing inhuman hand was unable to pierce through the barrier of light, Assassin's sharpened claws unable to even penetrate a centimeter deep. The hand reeled itself back, smoking from the holy light of the barrier.

The other assassin tried their hand, throwing various sharpened daggers only to have them bounce uselessly off the dome.

Recognizing that none of their attacks will work, they chose to wait. Wait for another opportunity to show itself and strike.

Inside the barrier the two players were gob smacked at what they witnessed. Carefully, they turned to look back at their savior. Without the looming threat of the Assassin the two were able to take in the appearance of the party.

 **EMIYA - Lvl: 100**

It was none other than Shirou Emiya.

"Everyone ok?" Shirou asked.

"I-I…thanks." Areo expressed his gratitude with Joy following up with one as well.

"Not for nothing but why the heck did you save us?" The bard suddenly asked.

YGGDRASIL was unlike many of its competitors with the MMORPG genre. Namely its extreme difficulties that applied to just about everything. One of its most predominant and highly controversial features were its completely opened entry dungeons. Within YGGDRASIL lies a plethora of hidden and unexplored locales and areas. Many of which were opened to all, meaning just because one party of players enters doesn't mean that another couldn't. While rare it wasn't too unheard of to have two or even more groups of players encountering one another within the same dungeon. Despite YGGDRASIL's large overworld, it had happened in the past before.

A feature that could be easily exploited. Hence the many debates and controversy surrounding its feature.

This was a common technique implemented by larger guilds, where if they were to find a hidden dungeon, they would hold off on completing it. More often than naught, they would stalk the area and wait for the possibility of another guild or clan to discover the location. Many would wait and would trail behind a guild or clan into said dungeon and basically allow said group to do most or all of the heavy lifting. Then, the guild enter the dungeon when most to all resistance were taken care of and would attack the first guild near the end, when most to all the players were exhausted of their resources. Thus, earning them the reward. Through deceitful and dubious methods.

Many discussion and message boards on the forums carried numerous complaints and rants of how players felt cheated when they found an unexplored dungeon and work their way through. Only for another group to earn the end rewards after the initial guild done most of the fighting.

A scummy tactic for sure but an extremely effective one to say the least.

Hence why any smart and well-prepared party would first scan the area for any possible players within the vicinity that might stumble upon the location. It wasn't too uncommon to have players left behind to act as sentries to dissuade any possible intruders.

The bard asked this as before they entered, they made sure they double and even tripled check the surrounding area for any possible players. It would spend disaster had they been taken off guard. Not that it mattered now with their party practically wiped out.

"Are you saying you would have preferred not to be rescued?" He rhetorically fired back. "Besides, I did it because you were in trouble."

"That's it? Not going to hold us hostage or anything? Demand we hand an equipment or item or something of value? You just did it because we were in trouble?" Areo asked with a sense of incredibility.

"It's not wrong to help people." Shirou answered with absolute certainly.

Had the situation been reverse, he doubted they would have showed the same courtesy and generosity. They would have just let him die for the chance at his dropped gear.

"You have quite the bleeding heart EMIYA-san. I can't tell if you're just incredibly generous or stupidly naïve." He blurted out.

"Areo!" His companion hissed. The last thing they needed was for their savior to get piss and render the save pointless by killing them.

"Is there an issue with that?"

The bard couldn't help but snort at the rather innocent sounding question.

"No. Not like it matter anymore." Areo sighed. Most of their member was gone so the raid on the dungeon was a bust. What did it matter now that someone else is here with them?

"Here." Shirou suddenly opened up his inventory and pulled out a scroll. Handing it to the bard, his eyes bulged at what he held in his hand.

A [Gate] scroll. With this they can open up a gate and leave!

"I-I…" Once again Areo was at a lost for words. Taken aback by the generosity the stranger was giving them. Not only did their mysterious savior saved them, but he even provided a means to escape unscathed.

"Thanks." Areo thanked the stranger once again before opening the scroll and activating it.

The scroll burned up and appeared before them was black oval portal. As the remaining players of the clan walked towards it, they noted that Shirou remained.

"Umm, aren't you coming with us?" asked the female player.

"No. I do hope you don't mind if I take over, will you?"

If Areo had eyebrows, they would have reached his hair lines at the stranger's rather absurd request.

If this stranger wanted to try his hand at fighting the boss solo, and one that managed to take on and nearly caused a full 30 man party wipe, then he could. There wasn't anything either of them could do to stop him anyway. He was kind of enough to offer a way out and cut their losses then and there, the silver hair player wasn't going to hear any complaints from him. They knew their leader would be pissed, what with them abandoning and potentially handing all loot drops to him. But at this point the two were beyond caring.

"No. And thank you. A word of advice, the boss will constantly summon duplicates of itself. You'll need to attack the one with the oversized right hand or else you'll never win the fight!" He cautioned.

Areo turned his back towards him and walked through followed by FullofJoy. The [Gate] collapsed on itself after a few more seconds, its function fulfilled.

Alone, Shirou glanced back towards the outside. It seemed that while the magus was chatting with the two players Assassin was busy with its own. Where there were once around two dozen Assassins, they now numbered roughly fifty or so. There they stood and prow, their bone white mask revealing nothing, watching him.

The information the two players gave to Shirou was helpful albeit a bit pointless as he quickly figured out the theme of the fight. There were in actuality two forms to the True Assassin boss. The information and identity immediately came to him. The first belonging to none other than Hundred-Faced Hassan. The ability of **Zabaniya: Delusional Illusion** was the only one to fit the parameter for which the boss could spawn a near endless amount of Assassin copies. The same servant that was present during the Fourth Holy Grail War. The second belonged to the first Assassin they mistakenly believed to be the sole boss of the Dungeon. None other than Cursed Arm Hassan. Evident by its demonic right arm that it kept sealed so it did not constantly seek the hearts of everyone around it.

Shirou could certainly see the challenge behind this, making it certainly unique compared to many others boss encounters he'd faced. Namely the Assassin's Noble Phantasm of near limitless spawning capabilities. It would require eliminating any and all assassins near simulations as to prevent another copy from taking its place and have it repeat the cycle. A task that is easy said than done when taking into account Cursed Arms capacity and its insta-kill attack.

A battle that would require extensive amount of coordination, teamwork, and even a bit of luck.

 _'Then again…this is a Servant I'll be fighting.'_ Shirou mused.

This however does present a perfect opportunity to finally test **_it_** out.

Dismissing **Luminosité Eternelle,** the Assassins instantly pounced. The numerous servant copies descended upon the player with the intention of ending his life. None more so than the Cursed Arm himself. Cursed Arm Hassan dashed forward, his arm coated in the sinister orange glow as it was released from its bindings. The remaining Assassins closed in with their daggers gleaming, ready to slice Shirou into ribbons. The cursed arm fired forth and twisted in all manner of impossible angles in an attempt to disorientate. Ready to rectify its previous attempt and mistake.

As for Shirou, he remained calm and still.

"Trace on!"

Magic circuits lit up across his body as streaks of neon glow prana discharged from his body. Slowly, they condensed and took form.

Mere centimeters away from touching its target the glowing hand stopped. Assassin's fingers and hand struggled but no matter how much the servant tried it couldn't. It wasn't just the Cursed Arm, but also every other Hassan was halted and bound, unable to break free no matter how much try struggled.

The reason for their sudden imprisonment; chains.

Silver steel chains wrapped around every single limb, holding them in fixed position like a puppet on strings. The appearance of the chain was rather basic, no more than interlocking metal forming the chain. Along the surface were intricate accents carved onto it.

 **[Οριο: The Chains of Prometheus – Divine Tier Chain]**

The chains rattled as the Hassan struggled to free themselves to no avail.

Now that they were all tied up and all in front of him, he didn't have to worry of any of the Hassans' possibly escaping. Then again, with what he had in store their chance of survival were slim anyway.

"I am the bone of my sword." His magic circuits flared the moment Shirou uttered his incantation. Prana and Od pooled within his hand. A large quantity then any his previous tracing. With a dramatic flourish the streaks of prana condensed and formed the weapon. A metallic red spear.

On the surface once could easily mistaken the spear to be none other than Gáe Bolg considering its overall appearance. On closer inspection however the spear in his hand was not the blood thirsty Noble Phantasm of a certain lancer.

Whereas Gáe Bolg was a pure saturated blood red the weapon in Shirou's hand was not and more muted and metallic. The spear was as tall as he was. Much like Gáe Bolg the shaft was lined with beautiful and intricate carving. Whereas Gáe Bolg had thorn like wrapping around the shaft this one did not. Instead, rune like carving in the form of branches running up and down the shaft. The bladed end of the spear held a unique design. Starting from beginning of the blade it seemingly split but are interwoven to form an almost crisscross pattern. Ending with it connecting and forming the spear's tip. At the base where the blade connected with the shaft of the spear depict an intricate design of a tree.

 **[Gungnir: The All-Seeing Spear – Divine Tier Spear]**

With the weapon completely traced within his hand, Shirou couldn't help but reminisce over the years gone by.

Two years. Two long years has passed in what felt like a blink of an eye. The memory of that day still rung true.

The battle with Berserker showed that there were indeed powerful enemies and bosses within YGGDRASIL. He couldn't continue to be complacent with his daily venture of only saving players now. With the matter of Servants and the Class Card within YGGDRASIL massive world this was the incentive he needed. If so, then what he needed was to expand his arsenal and YGGDRASIL provided just that.

In the beginning Shirou seriously underestimated just how truly diverse and in-depth the system was were it not thanks to Amanomahitotsu showing him the ropes.

The world opened up the possibility to creating any weapons, be they swords, shields, scepters, staffs, catalysts, spears, hammers, axes, and so on. Even further depth was added with the ability to customize each weapon with certain special abilities and stats. Infusion of elemental effects, special abilities and power, granting them certain bonuses and enchantments, the ability to boost or even debuff players and mobs, summon familiars and monsters, and so much more. Quite literally, an endless possibility of options to choose from that the player can select at will.

But all these depended on one crucial item. One coveted by all, where players would literally kill one another for.

Those being Data Crystals.

If a player wishes to create a weapon of their own design, they would need to pack said weapons with enough high tier data crystals. That was how the game was played. Players looking to craft high tier armor or weapons would need high tier materials to build the weapons shape and composition and data crystals in order to increase power and rarity to make them a reality. That goes double to imbue them with their desired special abilities. The weapon or equipment's overall strength, ability and facet all depend on how much high-tier data crystal a player can pack into one singular item.

That's also not taking into accounts road bumps and failures that would lead to a loss of the material wasted on a failed project.

There have only been a few universally confirmed methods to acquiring high tier data crystals. The first would be finding deposits of them, similar to how Nines Own Goal did and mine them. The second would be defeating high-end bosses within dungeons, and secret locations. A daunting feat in its own right. The last method would be to kill a player with said high tier equipment and then break it down for the material. Of which would yield the least out of the three methods.

Typically, it would take anywhere from several months to a year to for a player to find the time, effort and energy to grind for the rare crystals. That's also factoring in their personal life interfering with their game time. It was why it was actually more uncommon to see a player decked out in all Divine tier gear then it was to say face a level 100 player with most Legendary tier gear and a Divine tier weapon.

Unlike normal players Shirou had no need for breaks and could continue playing and grinding twenty-four hours a day for however long he wishes. Drastically reducing the time to farm materials to a few weeks compared to months for other players. Combined with his Blacksmithing job class and he earn certain bonuses when smithing his ideal weapon.

Finally, all those rare and high tier materials and data crystals there were just collecting virtual dust within his inventory were being put to use. In addition, he continued to explore on his own, discovering new locales and subsequently conquering said dungeon and reaping the various rewards.

Within his head holds a century worth of knowledge of varying myths and legends, be they obscure or well known. And with them came knowledge of Noble Phantasms of varying degrees. And with YGGDRASIL Shirou was fully capable of bringing them to life.

And so, in the span of those two years Shirou expanded his arsenal to include various weapons formed solely within the mechanics of YGGDRASIL. Despite being mere pale imitations of their original counterparts Unlimited Blade Works was still capable of classifying them as a Noble Phantasm.

Take for example: **[Luminosité Eternelle: God is Here With Me – Divine Tier Battle Flag]**

The holy battle flag belonging to the Saint of Orleans; Jeanne d'Arc. This was but one of Shirou's recent successful recreation. The Noble Phantasm functioned very similar to its original counter-part. Capable of producing a barrier of light, providing protection from any form of physical or magical based attack. The Phantasm relied on his Resistance ability stat of the player to create an impenetrable shield capable of weathering any punishment thrown its way. A wonderful addition to his arsenal considering the lack of defensive Noble Phantasm Unlimited Blade Works possesses.

The same could be said of the other YGGDRASIL made Noble Phantasm. Both of which were inspired from their legend.

 **[** **Οριο** **: The Chains of Prometheus – Divine Tier Chain]**

Shirou was inspired by the Greek tale of the Titan Prometheus. The Titan Prometheus defied Zeus and gifted Humanity with the gift of fire and the knowledge and skill of metalwork. As punishment Zeus chained the Titan to a rock and forced an eagle to devour his liver every single day. By the night the Titan would regenerate its liver only for the same eagle to come again the next day to devour it again. Not even the strength of a Titan was enough to break the chains.

It was this inspiration plus the idea of a Noble Phantasm similar to Gilgamesh's own Enkidu that lead to the formation of the YGGDRASIL based chain Noble Phantasm. In Greek ' **Οριο** ' roughly translates to Bound. An appropriate name for the created Noble Phantasm as it served to contain and bound anyone he chooses. Hence the durability and strength to stop anything, whether it be players, POPs, or even bosses in their tracks.

Then, there was the weapon in his hand. **Gungnir**. Named and based off of the same spear that the Norse All father, Odin, wielded himself.

It was said that the spear was powerful as befitting of the King of Asgard. Legend has it that the spear never missed. Whether it was thrown or thrusted, it would always find its mark. None could avoid it, and none could defend against it.

In fact, Gungnir and Gáe Bolg shared a lot of similarity when one stops to consider both of their abilities along with legend. Gáe Bolg causality manipulation of 'He thrust his spear and he pierced the heart' becomes 'The heart was pierced, so the spear must have been thrust'. Insuring that the spear would never miss its target. Sounding awfully like another never miss weapon currently in the in his hand.

It was this correlation that helped Shirou assigned the ideal usage for the copied weapon.

Whereas Gáe Bolg was an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, designed for single target elimination Shirou had another role for Gungnir. He designed it to be a trump card, similar to the likes of Caladbolg II and Balmung, near the level of Anti-Army power. Requiring a fair expenditure of his prana to summon and boosted to its limit. To end it all with one attack.

Holding the spear horizontal to his body Shirou tightened his grip on the weapon. Arcs of prana leaked and crackled from his arm as Shirou poured the necessary prana directly to the weapon. He could feel the weapon taking in his prana, growing more and more powerful by the second. It wasn't long before it became dense, packed to its limit and bordering on being a Broken Phantasm.

The runes glowed a bright red along the blade. Whereas Gáe Bolg radiated bloodthirst and the desire to kill Gungnir instead radiated power and the strength to see all that stood before him vanquished.

At the tip of the spear a small whirling cyclone formed and spun. It continued to gyrate, faster and faster, evolving into a miniaturized storm. Torrent of wind blew harshly, the crimson glow only intensified. Reaching its eclipse speed within seconds, arcs of intense crimson energy shot and spiraled around the weapon.

A vortex of pressurized wind and force builds, growing stronger and larger each passing second. The various Hassans' struggled fruitlessly to escape but were bound by his chains. All the windows within the room violently exploded from their hinges. Dust and debris flung themselves across the room under the violent gale. A raging storm formed, threatening to break loose at any second and within the eye of the storm stood Shirou with Gungnir at the ready.

The noise drowned out all, nothing but a cacophony of raging winds and crackling of pure energy.

It was time to see if all the work he put into crating Gungnir was worth it.

Arcing his arm back, Gungnir's red glow intensified as it prepared itself to be unleashed.

" **Gouge…Gungnir!"** A streak of crimson flew forth from Shirou's hand as Gungnir's form was encased in crackling crimson prana. It shot forward, impaling the Cursed Arm Hassan completely. Exiting via the back of the body the weapon made an impossible sharp turn, at a ninety-degree angle no less and impale itself through the backside of another Hassan. One by one, every Hassan within the room was gored by Gungnir. As the spear penetrated the final Hassan Gungnir exploded with the force of a Broken Phantasm.

A force like no other shook not only the throne room but the entire castle itself. Tremors vibrating through the castle and even shaking bedrock of the castle. Stone and many others breaking loose, threatening to send the precariously placed castle tumbling down the mountain. Yet, it managed to hold. Where once Shirou stood within a throne room, now exist nothing but ruin. Practically half of the room was gone, leaving a massive hole in the room to the cold outside world. That mattered little to the silver haired player as the dungeon would automatically reset and restore itself once he was gone.

A simple glance showed that Shirou was the only one left standing.

 ** _[Congratulation!]_**

 ** _[You have cleared The Lost Castle of Frostborne! For conquering this dangerous dungeon with a party less than 4 players along with defeating the boss on your first try, a 90% increase in loot drop will be given as reward.]_**

Reading and dismissing the victory screen loot began to materialize and dropped as per usual. Shirou's eye however ignored it all. There was only one prize that was worth his attention at the moment. Walking past it all he grabbed the Assassin Class Card that floated there, awaiting him.

Opening up his menu he stored it with all the rest.

 **[Berserker Class Card – World Class Item]**

 **[Rider Class Card – World Class Item]**

 **[Lancer Class Card – World Class Item]**

 **[Assassin Class Card – World Class Item]**

And Assassin makes four in total.

Four out of Seven had been found.

Shirou stared at them for a brief movement. Slowly, Shirou heaved a frustrated sigh matching his avatar's petulant frown. Despite the victory and rewards he couldn't feel he loss in a way.

"Where are you?"

His voiced carried through the broken and barren room but no answer came to him. With his duty done, there was nothing left to do take his spoils and leave.

* * *

"Satoru-san." A masculine voiced called out his name.

Suzuki Satoru, the true name behind the mask that was Momonga, turned and briefly panicked when he realized his boss was calling him.

"Sir!" The middle-aged salaryman crisply responded, straightening his posture. Standing in front of the salaryman was his company branch manager. "Is there something you need sir?"

"Do you remember that proposal you suggested some weeks ago?" The manager asked.

The incident in question was when Satoru was in a board meeting and they were discussing matter regarding the company and ways to increase profit margin. Satoru absentmindedly spoke out in the middle of the meeting, throwing out his own idea absentmindedly. Instead of being accosted or ridiculed, many of the managers within his branch latched onto the idea. That was around two weeks ago.

Satoru slowly nodded.

"Turns out your suggestion has shown some promising results. The higher ups have decided to take it up and implement the idea. They've also been informed that it was you that suggested it. You've been doing good work recently, Satoru-san. I, and the other heads have decided that you would be perfect for a small managing position we've been looking to see filled. Do you think you'll be up for it?"

A promotion. Satoru quickly realized.

Outwardly, Satoru's face remained stone faced. A straight poker face that revealed none of his true thoughts and emotions. He had developed this trait over the years during work whenever he was scolded by his superiors or others. Inwardly he was very much the opposite of cool and collected as his face might be showing as of this moment. It could almost be described as full pandemonium.

For a salaryman that was used to be at the bottom of the proverbial stepping ladder this would be a dream come true! Workers like himself worked themselves to the bone, often time literally just to make ends meet. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see worker putting in decades of hard work and be rewarded with nothing.

Only those that were lucky enough or prove themselves had even the slightest chance of catching the attention of the higher ups within the massive corporate conglomerate that runs Japan.

Many would be overjoyed at such a thing. A promotion, this one granting him a higher position within the company and with it, a higher pay wage, some measure of influence, and a relaxed time schedule as oppose the rigorous schedule of a simple salaryman that saw ridiculous amount of hour and work time and little off times.

The tradeoff being the new level of responsibility that would be thrusted on his shoulder. In addition to the various workload that came with managing not only his own work but also those under his management.

Internally he was sweating bullet! He never intended for the idea to work, and now they were offering him a job with greater responsibility and one that was outside this comfort zone.

Some would call him an underachiever, but that was fine in his book. While certainly not pessimistic, he knew from a young age that he would never truly break out of the mold he, and so many others were in. While not a bad life, he was content with what he had, and he made his peace with that. The salaryman had earned himself a few small promotions in the past granting him a higher salary and little else. And for him that was fine. The work, while menial at the best of time or daunting at the worst, was manageable. His salary kept him afloat and covered all his necessities. And he had a generous amount of time devoted to himself. I.e. free time that he would spend in YGGDRASIL.

On one hand he wanted to deny the promotion, seeing as he was content with where he was. Of course, he didn't say that aloud. That, and mostly because he was afraid. As if someone like himself could manage or lead. However, he knew such a rejection would be spitting in the face of all those who tried before and failed. This was an opportunity that not many ever within his line of work could ever boast of reaching. He also wasn't too sure how they would react such a rejection. And he was concerned how the higher ups would feel hearing him reject their offer.

Would they be spiteful of him for turning down what many would consider a generous promotion?

Would they get angry that a lowly salaryman spit on their offer?

What if he accepts and he fails completely and utterly?

Would they let him go?

Scorn him and barred him from ever working again?

He could feel each question, concern, doubt, weighting down on his shoulder. As if gravity had been multiplied tenfold, himself struggling to stand. His heart hammering in his chest, ready to burst through.

In the end, the pressure got to him and he snapped.

"I'll be honored!" Satoru accepted. The salaryman bowed to his manager.

"Excellent! I'll inform the others and let you know of the detail. Good day!" The manager clapped him on the shoulder before heading off.

Satoru stood there for moment before speed walking towards the closest men's restroom. He kept his head low and avoided everyone. He got into one of the stalls and immediately collapsed on the toilet seat. Shakingly, he covered his face with his rattling hands. A wordless whimper left his mouth as the reality of the situation hit him.

Thankfully, no one else was in there to hear him in his moment of weakness.

"Fuck…" He let out a hoarse swear.

The rest of the day finished off much quieter than Satoru imagined as the news of his promotion spread amongst his coworkers. He imagined some might congratulate him or even a few might glower at such an opportunity being presented to him. Instead he was faced with indifference. Then again, it wasn't like he was close to any of them and vice versa.

Within a few hours he was finally home. His thoughts still plagued by his meeting with the manager. The one thing he was thankful for was he was done with work for the week. Meaning, he had the weekends off, so he had that to look forward to. Time that he would spend leisurely in YGGDRASIL with his friends to get away from his real-world problems

If only for a short time.

Through his large coat Satoru took out his keycard and swiped. The electronic lock on the door beeped and flashed green. Satoru grunted as he peeled off the heavy coat and suffocating mask and goggles that protected him from the polluted outside world. He hung each half-heartily on the walls, too tired for anything else.

His entire apartment wasn't that large despite the fact that he had more than enough money from his recent promotions to afford one of the more nicer apartments closer to the city. The room was quite barren and spartan, lacking much save for the proper necessities such as fridge, stove, an old wooden kitchen table, a small couch, and two doors that led to his room and the bathroom. The only thing of true worth or note was the high-tech electronic chain attached and connected to several machinery's and computers hooked up to the wall.

It wasn't much but it was home. And that what mattered the most to a simple as Satoru. The salaryman never considered himself to be materialistic. So, he kept his personal possession to a minimal.

With ease Satoru booted up CPU, lights flicked around his electronic chair as the system and machinery powered up. Rolling his shoulder, he sat himself down the chair, a content sigh leaving his breath as he felt his entire body relaxed against the cushy chair. Grabbing the Neural Head Set he connected the router and cable. A few more actions and everything were primed and ready to go. A small window displayed a meter that read **[Nano machine level at 86%].** He quickly dismissed the window but not before writing a quick reminder to head to the pharmacy later this week for his refill.

It would suck should he accidently get kick out of the game just because he forgot.

Strapping the Neural gear on his vision blackened. Various windows and pop up appeared along the HUD. He easily located and opened the window to YGGDRASIL. As he pressed the icon a message popped up requiring him to download an update.

Suppressing a sigh Satoru did just that and waited as the progress bar slowly moved towards completion. While he waited, his mind slowly wandered back to his friend.

Two years has since passed since he joined Nines Own Goal with Shirou and the rest. In that time, the clan expanded, taking in new members. And in those two years a lot has changed, but somethings remained much the same.

Only the original eight members present knew of Shirou's condition. The rest and newly joined members were very much in the dark and this was due to the digital player's request.

Despite the nature of his existence of what amounted to a conscious turned Artificial Intelligence not much has changed. Shirou didn't wish for this knowledge to affect their current relationship and each member strived to do so. Over time the idea of Shirou being stuck within the game faded surprisingly easily and quickly. Especially when taking into accounts the players individual hectic life and drama. Honestly, there even times where Momonga forgot about that as well. It also helped that Shirou never approach the subject either, allowed it to slowly fall into obscurity.

In the end, there wasn't much anyone of them could really do about it. As he stated he gave full consent to Zelretch, despite not knowing the exact method he would use. None of the players had any real financial power or sway to even think of going up against a powerful CEO like Zelretch. Nor did he wished for any of them to fight on his behalf.

In regard to the rather frightening prospect of one's own mind being digitalized and stored Shirou assured them so long as they didn't go blabbering about it, they would be safe and fine.

It has been two years since the reveal and they have continued on with their daily life unabated. Showing that Shirou was telling the truth.

Their daily life also saw an improvement when interacting with the silver-haired player. The members all joked that they didn't need waste money or time on speaking with a therapist when they have Shirou around to listen to their woes and offer a helping hand. He offered all kinds of advices and helping hands to all their problems.

None more so than Momonga whom the two chat routinely, the salaryman sharing his doubts and concerns with Shirou. In turn Shirou would listen and offer advice to help, it was actually his advices that helped him gain those small promotions during the span of those two years. Thus, allowing him more time to spend within YGGDRASIL.

A dinging noise took him out of his thoughts. The update finally finished and the icon for YGGDRASIL appeared. Wasting no time, he selected it and waited as his vision darkened. The nanomachines within his body lighting by the thousands, interfacing with his neural interface system.

Suzuki Satoru found himself starting an image, an avatar before entering the virtual world of Yggdrasil.

It was large skeleton, more accurately an Elder Lich. A pure, and smooth alabaster skull stared right back at the Japanese salesman. Two dark red orbs within his empty eye sockets that burned bright. A great obsidian robe with a hood draped over the huge skeletal figure with additional dark mantle overlapping the illustrious robe. The robes were adorned with deep lavender and golden accents running down the robe. Within the center of the Overlord's chest, the robed opened up allowing his skeletal ribcage to be on full display. A floating red orb lies within the center, adding to its already frightening and inhuman appearance. Glittering rings adorned each of the being skeletal fingers. Held in one hand was a twisting obsidian staff with an orb at the end, floating magnetically with the staff.

His appearance was the epitome of a dark overlord one might find in fiction.

His second and arguably his true life. It felt like he was staring in a mirror, metaphorically speaking of course.

He touched his character, allowing the waves of binary codes and data to wash over him. Within seconds the form of Suzuki Satoru vanished, replaced with the Overlord of Death; Momonga!

In a flash Momonga appeared in a too familiar room, the Spawn zone of the clan's hideout. Taking only a few steps forward Momonga saw three figures waiting at the connecting doorway that lead further into the building.

Spying who they were he could already feel his spirits lifting.

The first was Peroroncino, the birdman sniper of Nines Own Goal. His appearance remained relatively the same save for his equally impressive Divine Tier golden armor and esthetic. Next to the avian was Amanomahitotsu with the same appearance he'd maintained for years now.

Lastly was Warrior Takemikazuchi, The Nephilim Samurai.

 **Warrior Takemikazuchi: Lvl – 100**

Cutting an imposing figure and height Warrior Takemikazuchi stood as one of the greatest players within Nines Own Goal. Fitted head to toe in a deep red samurai armor that fitted the avatar rather impressive model and form. Everything was enlarged from the chest plate, armored kilt, and massive spaulder like pauldron that rested on his shoulders, running down his arms. His head was unnatural much like his fellow heteromorphs, bone like with teeth sharpened and filed to a point. Disproportionate horns sprouted from the top of his head. No visible eyes save for tiny holes filed evenly into the skull like head. His main weapons of choice were the sheathed katanas he kept on his waist.

As Momonga quickly took note of his companions Peroroncino was the first to speak.

"Ahhh, darn. I thought you were EMIYA-sempai, Momonga-san."

"Oh, Peroroncino-san, Amanomahitotsu-san, and Takemikazuchi-san. Greetings." Momonga greeted them all first before addressing Peroroncino. "Do you need something from EMIYA-san?"

"Yes! Err…well, no. Not exactly."

"What he means is that their something we wish to discuss with EMIYA-san." Amanomahitotsu interjected on behalf of the avian player.

"Have you tried using [Message]?" Momonga suggested.

"I wanted to but then I remembered EMIYA-sempai saying something, that he would be busy with something important. I didn't want to disturb him." Peroroncino answered.

"You worry too much my friend." Chuckled Takemikazuchi, a deep but fitting voice for the warrior. "Today's the day of our usual clan meet. EMIYA-san has always been rather punctual when it comes to certain matter such as this. I'm sure EMIYA-san will turn up any second now."

"…Is there something the matter?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Turning as one, the four players turned to see the only humanoid player within all of Nines Own Goal.

"EMIYA-sempai!" Peroroncino greeted excitedly.

"Nothing is wrong my friend, we were simply waiting on you. We have something we would like to show you. That is if you are preoccupied of course." Said Warrior Takemikazuchi.

"No, I had just wrapped up what I wanted. The meetings isn't for a while so I have time to kill. Lead the way." He answered.

With that the group of five were on the way. While walking the players quickly devolved into conversation. Smalltalk, like how their day was or how was the weather.

"Oh, Takemikazuchi-san. I also have something I would also like to give you." Said Shirou during the halfway point. Opening his menu several bright red data crystals appeared in his hands.

"I managed to find some of those specific data crystals you were looking for. Here." He then handed to the katana wielding player.

"I cannot thank you enough EMIYA-san. Were it not for you, I doubt I would be able to indulge like I am now." The samurai humbly bow his head in thanks. "With these, I'll be one step closing to perfecting Takemikazuchi MK 6!" he said giddily.

"It's fine Takemikazuchi-san. They would be of better use to you than me. You don't have to thank me for something as small as that."

"I doubt many would consider handing away valuable Divine category data crystals as 'small' thing, EMIYA-san." Amanomahitotsu spoke in good humor. "Compassionate as always."

Within a few seconds they arrived at their designation, the buildings workshop. The room was used mainly by Amanomahitotsu, Warrior Takemikazuchi and Shirou, seeing as they were the only ones with the [Blacksmith] job class. So, they had the entire room to themselves to ticker away as they pleased.

The room was divided into three area, designated for each one of the players. Each had workshop and smithery at their respective corner.

The difference in their work station clearly showed. First was Shirou's corner where everything was neatly arranged and organized. A plethora of weapons, scraps and materials were laid about. Some were broken and lied in a pile while most run from racks alongside the wall. Each weapon categories by their weapon type such as swords, hammers, spears, lances, etc… Next came Warrior Takemikazuchi in what can be described as an organized mess. With various materials, weapons, tools and parts all laid out seemingly randomly. Lastly came to Amanomahitotsu, whom mirrored Shirou's workspace with the area being rather tidy and organized. A variety of junk, and armor pieces laid about.

"So, what was it that you wanted discuss with me?" Questioned Shirou.

"I also hope you don't mind that I'm here as well." Spoke Momonga, realizing that he might be intruding on their discussions.

"It's fine, don't worry about a thing Momonga-san." Peroroncino dismissed his friend's worry first. "As for you EMIYA-sempai, we wanted to give something."

"Yes, a gift." Began Amanomahitotsu.

"As a show of appreciation for everything that you've done for us." Finished Warrior Takemikazuchi.

"A gift?" Shirou blinked. "You guys, you didn't have to—"

"We know, but we wanted to." The samurai politely cut him off. "After everything you've done not just for the clan, but also for us. Helping and providing for us. We wanted to at least return the favor." The Nephilim spoke in a tone that said he would not be denied.

"I see. Well, what did you had in mind?" Shirou relented. Part of him curious as to what the gift would be.

"It was a bit of a challenge figuring out the perfect gift to give sempai. Seeing as you could just make some cool and fancy weapon and armor on your own. So, the three of us pulled out head together to get you something special and unique." Peroroncino ran towards Amanomahitotsu station and pulled a trolley with a sheet over it.

"It took us a lot of time, effort, and data crystals before we got just right. We hope you'll like it." With a flourish the crustacean heteromorph unveiled it.

"A…gun?" Momonga voiced.

Indeed, there sitting innocently in the middle of the trolley were two guns. Pistols to be more accurate. Sleek and compact with the model resembling an M1911. One of the pistols was colored chrome silver with white accents running down gun. Its counterpart was black with red accents running down the gun. The barrel and slide of the gun were elongated with the blades fashioned on the under barrel of the gun. Their design appeared as if Kanshou and Bakuya were fixed to the underside like bayonets.

"Sooo? What do you think?!" Peroroncino eagerly awaited to his Shirou's opinion.

Shirou reached out and grasped the two pistols. He was surprised to see that they felt right in his hands. Not too heavy or bulky nor was it too light. Some subtle and small grips gave the weapon a nice feel to them. Like it felt right to be wielded in his hands.

"I…it's nice, but you guys do remember my fighting style, right?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Of course. EMIYA-san if you would, twirl them at the trigger guard." The blacksmith instructed.

Shirou arched a brow at the instruction but did as he was told. Loosening his grip, he twirled the gun. He was then treated to a sight of them glowing, their shape taking a new form. Catching them, the guns transformed into exact copies of Kanshou and Bakuya.

He was equally shocked as he was surprised.

However, the surprise didn't stop here.

"Try connecting the ends of the weapons." Instructed Warrior Takemikazuchi.

Shirou did just that, connected the faux Kanshou and Bakuya and watched with rapture as the married blades changed once more. They connected, or perhaps intertwined was the more apt description. The pummel and grip of the swords combined to form the bow's grip and arrow rest. The blades extended to form the upper and lower limb and recurve of the bow. Finally, a long bow string stretched all the way completing the transformation. Unlike Shirou's Black Bow, this one followed the same color scheme as the others a mixture of chrome silver and white, and obsidian and red of its previous alternate modes.

Silently Shirou plucked the bow's string and it responded with a satisfying 'dnnggg' sound, showing its tightness. The grip on the bow was comfortable, and it wasn't too heavy or too light either. Just like the others the weapon felt right in his hands.

This time he was left truly speechless.

"We had a bit of challenge figuring what would be the best to give you. Peroroncino originally had the idea of making a sniper rifle or even railgun. However, he seemed to have forgotten that you too have another conventional way for attacking at long ranges." Amanomahitotsu explained.

"If by conventional, you mean summoning swords and shooting them like missiles. Or using a massive bow to shot swords of all things. Then sure, let's go with that." The Nephilim samurai quipped.

"Hey! If EMIYA-sempai can do amazing stuff with his bow, then he would be unstoppable with a sniper!" The golden avian argued.

"You do realize that EMIYA-san would have needed the appropriate classes just to use said weapon, effectively don't you?" Warrior Takemikazuchi fired back.

The crustacean heteromorph continued while the two bickered. "Takemikazuchi suggested a more traditional weapon as you are a close quarter fight. Such as a falchion that complimented your particular style of fighting. I suggested the idea for the bow seeing as you do possess an [Archer] class. But Peroroncino was extremely persistent, so we shifted our focus to a weapon with medium to close range uses. Ultimately, we came up with the idea of combining all three, a fire arm, sword, and bow, into one versatile packet. A few more preplanning and then we finally nailed down the idea of the weapon being able to switch Kanshou and Bakuya to gun form and bow form. A trick weapon if you will."

"I can't imagine the work needed just to get this all right." Said Momonga, admiring the craftsmanship and inner mechanism of the weapon.

"I had to slave away at the design and coding just so I could get it just right. Took a dozen of alternation and rework but we finally got it down." Amanomahitotsu admitted.

Now that Shirou had a moment to think about it he did remember the crustacean heteromorph asking for a blueprint/design of Kanshou and Bakuya all those months back.

"What do you EMIYA-sempai? Do you like it?" Peroroncino anxiously asked, similar to a child gifting their father a present. A sense of giddiness sprinkled in with a touch of nervousness.

The others too were waiting to hear his thoughts.

The first thirty seconds passed in silence.

Then came a minute.

Then two.

As time stretched on, an air of uncertainty started to surround the cheerful avian. Did he not like the gift? Or, perhaps, he had offended his senpai? Did he not like the gift somehow? What if… the weapon brought back memories of the war? A hundred and one possibilities swarmed his brain. And not him but the others two were starting to feel the trepidation building in the silence.

The others quietly glanced towards one another, unsure of what to say or do but also too afraid to speak up.

Of course, Peroroncino couldn't know that the individual who currently encompassed his thoughts was having an even more frantic train of thoughts.

What did he think of it?

Honestly?

The weapon…it was weak. Far weaker than anything within his Unlimited Blade Works.

The main gimmick of the weapon being able to change between three alternate modes was certainly unique and appealing, but it was simply just that.

A gimmick.

With a simple glance at it and Unlimited Blade Works working its magic Shirou learned of the weapons strengths but also limitations and flaws. The three alternate modes have their own strengths but as a whole they aren't that powerful when compared to the powerhouses he held within his Reality Marble.

Heck, even his [Trace Bullet] far exceed the gun's and bow's damage value simply because he could break them into Broken Phantasm and use them as impromptu artillery. In fact, even a simple traced version of Kanshou and Bakuya was more powerful than one in his hands.

In all honesty, there would be no practically or realistic reason for Shirou to even think of using it when he had a dozen other more viable and more powerful options to choose from.

And yet…

As he gazed down on the weapon a single thought echoed throughout his mind. "When was the last time someone had gifted him something?"

Shirou was many things. A wannabe hero, a great cook, and a selfish idealist. What he wasn't, was materialistic. Of course, he never spoke this out loud. However, perhaps it was the way he acted towards objects that had given people this idea. He never took more than he needed and never asked for anything. Because he never felt he needed or even deserved gifts.

But now, from a man that have seen and done so much looking back on his life he realized just how scarce gifts were to him.

Kiritsugu wasn't the gifting type. Well, besides imparting onto Shirou his ideals and dream of being a hero. But that hardly counts. In a way it was thanks to him that fostered Shirou's unmaterialistic mindset. They didn't have much but what they did have growing up was more than enough for the them. He indirectly taught Shirou to take and keep only the most important items. Everything else was replaceable.

Taiga was pretty much a freeloader for a good chuck of his teenage years. A lackadaisical and almost demanding woman that took many things for granted. While Shirou would never think ill will of her, he would acknowledge her faults and vices. She mooched off of Shirou's good will and food, mostly food, for years. And it only thanks to her grandfather, Raiga, that Shirou actually had the money necessary to help feed Taiga's food addiction. But then again, Shirou was also at fault for never trying to correct her behaviors.

Tohsaka doesn't fair better than Kiritsugu. In a way she was the complete opposite of Shirou, avaricious when it comes to gems and wealth. The twin-tailed magus was at times the very definition of a magus. Persistent, covetous, manipulative, and even dismissive at the worst of times. Due to the nature of her magecraft she could never have enough and rarely did she ever think of spending it on him. Of course, Shirou's own unmaterialistic mindset and view did nothing to dissuaded her otherwise. There were times where she did gift him with one thing or another, but they never lasted. The only he could truly say he coveted was Rin's pendant.

Issei followed a similar mindset to Shirou's own. Due in part to his own humbleness and life style of a Buddhist monk. The two had an understanding of sorts as Issei would always call on Shirou whenever they would need something to be fixed in order to say on expenses. And he would be more than happy to help out.

There was Shinji and enough said.

As for Sakura….his kouhai was a lot like him, or rather she picked up a lot of his habits as she stayed with him. The most she would gift to him were groceries or kitchen tool sets for his birthday or Christmas. Items that were completely expendable.

In a way it was also partially Shirou's fault as well. He had always wished to help others at no cost to himself, doing anything and everything for free. In some vain belief and hope that it was the right thing to do, like any Hero would.

If he was being honest, he had no really idea how to feel. It had been a long time since he received a gift.

They did this for him, out of the goodness of their hearts, because they believed he was worth it. He was worth being gifted something, something that they poured their hearts into.

It wasn't powerful he will admit, but even Shirou would admit that such a trick weapon would be quite useful in the right situation.

But there was one thing that separated this from all the rest. It forged by mortal hands, from friends. It possesses no true origin or purpose but symbolize something much more. Their friendship. And that alone makes it priceless in his eyes.

"I…like it." Shirou finally professed.

And the audience let out a collective breath.

"Jeez sempai, did you really have to make it so dramatic?" Peroroncino jest.

"Sorry…" Shirou apologized softly, his finger running along the surface of the bow.

"Why don't you try and break in and tell us what you think." Offered Amanomahitotsu.

Located adjacent to the room was small training field. Here, practice dummies were set up for them to test and experiment with the weapons.

Amanomahitotsu also explained that the weapon could transform from gun to sword to bow then back to gun, in that order. Returning the bow back to gun form Shirou decided he would start with that.

Standing at a safe distance Shirou paused for a moment, trying to correct his posture that suited the usage of the firearms in his hand. Eventually he settled for a basic stance. Raising the silver and white pistol Shirou took aim and fired. The initial kick and recoil caught him off guard, but he quickly got it under control. The target was a dummy ten meters away and he managed to hit its shoulder when he was originally aiming for chest.

"Hmm, [Reinforcement]!"

Activating his magic circuits Shirou tried again, this time the kick was almost nonexistent. The shot was on target, hitting squarely on the dummy's chest.

The hour or so was just Shirou firing and experimenting his new weapons. Testing its limits and what he could perform with it. He learned that the guns can fire twenty-five shots each with a total of fifty all together. One thing he was pleasantly surprised to learn was that he didn't have to deal with a pesky reload mechanic similar to the rifle style weapons as the gun autogenerate a shot every five seconds. Each could be fire semi-automatically or in rapid-fire bursts.

It was during the close-range testing that Shirou really had fun. Despite not being all proficient with fire arms he found that the weapons offer a certain variety of move sets and attacks. The gun could be used to either keep foes at bay or allow Shirou to lay into them so he could close the distances. Allowing for close range combat with the weapons bladed underside. The blades under the barrel were just as deadly, evident by the torn-up dummies. That's not considering the trick weapons ability to turn from bladed guns to his signature weapons. Allowing Shirou to control the flow of the fight easily when in other situations he might have had to expend more prana tracing new weapons.

Then there was the bow form, capable of extended range snipes that the gun form couldn't not provide. While the bow form couldn't be used liberally as the other two it was nowhere near worthless. Shirou could already imagine several scenarios where such a situation would be advantageous. Plus the quick and easy to switch alternate modes allow him to cover his bases should any enemies get too close.

He had to praise them for ingenious idea and integration of the trick weapon. It was versatile, extremely so. Covering all bases of close, medium, and even long-range encounters. With the ability to freely switch in between one another this allowed for further avenues to explore in the weapons move set. Controlling the flow of battle depending on his opponent. And that's not even considering swapping them mid-fight, allowing for even greater variety of move set and surprise.

Shirou figured with enough time and practice he could master the weapon's fighting style and incorporated with his.

"So, what do you think EMIYA-san? Do you like it?" asked Amanomahitotsu.

"I do, I really do. Thank you." Shirou nodded to the three and while his character model doesn't show it they the distinct feeling he was smiling. And so, the three smiled as well.

"Wonderful. Now all that's left is to name it. Afterall, a weapon is never truly complete unless it possesses a name." Warrior Takemikazuchi patted his Katana, Takemikazuchi MK 5, subtly.

"A name…" Shirou looked back down at the weapon.

They did have a point. Every weapon in his Unlimited Blade Works had a name, even the YGGDRASIL created Noble Phantasms. It was only right.

Kanshou and Bakuya were used as the basis of the weapon's design. Combine with the various alternate modes that it would swap to. And just like their original counterpart they weren't forged for a grand purpose nor a desire to be a powerful weapon. They were created for Shirou and him alone. They had the unique ability to switch to three different alternate modes. Alternative forms and methods of fighting.

"Kanshou and Bakuya…Alternative."

"Alternative? Huh, not the name I would go for but it's your chose EMIYA-sempai." Peroroncino and the rest shrugged at the odd name but it was his choice so that was that.

Shirou activated his Magic Circuits, allowing them to flow freely into the weapon. They ran along the weapon, categorizing every fundamental aspect of the weapon. Within a few seconds Unlimited Blade Works took Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative and stored them.

There amongst the hill of swords lay the original Kanshou and Bakuya, the married blade. Shimmer of blue light popped and from it appeared Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative, the married trick gun-sword-bow.

There the two sets of weapon stood, almost like they were distant kin.

With nothing left for them the four players walked on out. The call for the clan meet hadn't come in yet so they had time left to burn.

Shirou easily spotted Momonga looking at the display of weapons over on his side of his workstation.

"See something you like Momonga?"

"No, I was just looking that all. I've been meaning to ask you this, but how come you don't use any of these weapons?" Asked Momonga, gesturing towards the weapons on the walls.

"I…they weren't good enough for my liking." Shirou answered.

"They are not good enough?" Peroroncino couldn't but repeat incredulously. While the avian heteromorph was an archer even a simply glance at the various weapons stats showed that they were powerful. Since most of the weapons were Divine grade quality.

These weapons were what he considered not good enough?!

"They didn't turn out exactly how hoped they would be." The magus rephrased.

"Doesn't mean they can't be useful. I know many players that would kill just for even one of those." The Nephilim pointed to a particular row of weapons. One of the more powerful sets which Shirou dubbed the Excalibur series: α (alpha), β (Beta), ζ (Zeta), δ (Delta), ε (Epsilon), Ω(Omega). At first, he came up the idea of forming alternate blades in the hopes of reaching the likes of Caliburn or Excalibur. The idea died down rather quickly and now they served as simple set decoration.

It didn't seem right to create and use what about to cheap copies of the true Excalibur.

"Still, I do wonder. Planning on taking on a guild or something in the future EMIYA-san?" Warrior Takemikazuchi teased.

"It never hurts to be prepared."

"Of course, but realistically speaking even with your unique build it's not like you can use all of them at once EMIYA-san." The armored heteromorph pointed out. He knew his friends build and ability were absurdly broken. Perhaps even the most broken from what he had seen Shirou trace. But even himself admitted that there was limit to what he could bring out. It didn't make sense in his mind. What was the point of have twenty different weapons if all had the same function? To kill.

"Funny, I could say the same to you Takemikazuchi-san. How many weapons have you created as well?" Amanomahitotsu interjected.

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, I would be quite the hypocrite to admonish EMIYA-san for something I too indulge in." Warrior Takemikazuchi fully admitted. "I can understand being prepared, but it seems more likely that you're kitted out to go to war with someone or something. I like making powerful weapons as much as the next guy, but it does seem like overkill to make an arsenal worth. Especially since we already have some terrifying ones already EMIYA-san."

"And sometimes it is necessary Takemikazuchi-san. Just in case…" Shirou trailed off.

"Just in case of what?" Shirou remained silent to the Nephilim question.

While the Samurai player was curious, he knew better than to badger his friend. If he was not comfortable with saying it then he would not pry the issue. Still, he was curious as to what enemy a player of Shirou's caliber felt the need to create some many powerful weapons. A question for another time as the group of five received a notification via [Message].

It was time for the clan's meeting.

* * *

One by one all the members of Nines Own Goal filtered into the small little conference room. Each player a different species of the mighty Heteromorphic race, all but Shirou of course. Taking familiar seats at the circular table, they all sat down and await the leader of the clan, Touch Me. In total there were 29 members seated. Seeing everyone present and accounted for Touch Me stood up.

"Thank you all for coming." He greeted. "I see that everyone was able to make it, and so we'll begin. I do have an important announcement to make, however before that, is anything anyone wish to announce at this time?"

At this most of the players around the table turned towards the lone humanoid player. It wasn't uncommon that Shirou was often the first to speak, considering his 'condition.' Allowing for more play time compared to everyone else. Not that the rest of the rest of the clan member besides the original eight knew of this. It wasn't uncommon for Shirou to start off the meeting by revealing some event or informing the rest of the clan of any area he recently discovered and subsequently conquered.

"Yes. I just finished my excursion from the Field of Ever Frost."

"The limited time event within Niflheim if I remember correctly." **Punitto Moe** , the Death Vine uttered his voice holding a slight inflection of awe.

"All by yourself as well I'm assuming?" **Luci*Fer** commented to which Shirou confirmed with a nod. "As expected of our resident [Dungeon Master]."

Another nickname that popped over the course of the last year or so. His tracing abilities was no secret amongst the clan. Over the two years Shirou was rather open with his abilities but never flaunted them. Due the nature of his abilities and his free time he took to hunting down the remaining Class Cards whenever possible.

Often resulting in him entering any and all dungeons for the possibility of encountering over Servant bosses. As a result, entire dungeons were often cleared thanks to the many game breaking weapons Shirou could trace as easily as one would breathe. Thus, it wasn't too uncommon to see Shirou walking away, having discovered and conquered said dungeon and leaving with the rewards and loot. The ones he could solo anyways.

Thus, the name was given to him one day by Warrior Takemikazuchi as a joke and it just stuck within the clan.

"That's EMIYA-sempai for you!" Peroroncino excitedly praised.

"Any good loot?" questioned Bukubukchagama.

"That and more." Opening and operating his menu, he held out his hand as four items materialized. The four Class Card appeared and was visible by all.

"That makes four in total." Tabula counted.

"Have you been getting them to work by any chance?" A new clan member questioned, **Wish III**.

"No. Just like the others, they remain unresponsive not matter what I try." Shirou answered.

"Hmm, you did say there's potentially seven cards in total. Perhaps all seven must be collected before its true worth is revealed." Theorized Ulbert.

 _'Assuming that's all Zelretch put in.'_ Shirou mused. It was already complicated enough as it was, the last thing he needed was the addition of Avenger, or even Ruler Class Servants.

If what Ulbert theorized was indeed to be the truth, then that bring up the matter of other guilds and player possibly possessing even just one of the few remaining class cards. If so, what then? Shirou had exhausted any and every option available to him and yet the purpose of the cards still alludes him. It wasn't like he could just head to the forums and write up a complaint about them. That would be putting a target on his and the clan's back.

Not to mention their status as World Class item. Items of extreme rarity that only 50 or so have been confirmed by the developers to have been found. Out of 200 within the seven long years that the game has been out for. And they, he possess four of them on him at all time.

The fact that Shirou managed to track down and collect four already within two years was commendable enough.

 _'And I still haven't be able to track down the Her card yet…'_ Shirou mused.

"Sounds like something those shitty devs would come up."

"Leave it to them to make us work even harder for a World Class item."

"Damn shitty devs."

The group shortly deluged into the usual banter of insulting the developers. Once the usual tirade was done with the group quickly got back on track.

"Anyone else?" Touch Me posed.

"Ohhh! Me! Pick me!" The golden armored avian raised his hand in an excited manner.

"Oh brother…" Thanks to his enhanced senses, Shirou was able to catch the exasperated tone coming from Peroroncino's sister.

"I've managed to get a new girlfriend!" Peroroncino boasted, puffing his chest out in pride.

"Ohh, how long has this lasted?" asked **Beast King Mekongawa**. A few of the clan members leaned in, curious as well.

"Two weeks baby! Three days longer than the last!" Peroroncino proudly boasted.

"Congratulation." Replied Momonga, clapping. On the surface it would appear that Momonga was being overly sarcastic but in truth he was completely genuine.

Considering the perverted player's general disposition and attitude regarding to a member of the fair sex, the fact that he managed to keep a relationship going with the opposite gender for this long was worthy of praise. It was commendable on both parties, Peroroncino managing to not drive the girl away with his usual perversion. And the girl herself for sticking with him, his antics and all.

"Congrats. Can't wait to see how long this one lasts until she runs for the hill." Luci*Fer snarked.

Shirou frowned the fallen angel's sarcastic comment but quickly gave up knowing he wouldn't apologize. The fallen aerosphere had always been a troublesome personality and very unapologetic when it came to his actions and words. Instead, he too showed his support for his friend.

"That's great Peroroncino-san."

"Thanks, EMIYA-sempai!" A happy, smiling emoticon appeared over Peroroncino.

"Ok, ok. Enough." Said Touch Me, quieting down his companions. "Anyone else?"

"I too have something I wish to share!" A hand shot upwards, drawing everyone's attention.

It was none other than **Nishikienrai**.

Dressed in pure black and white attire that bared a close resemblance to a ninja attire. Woven of dark silk and leather overlayered with white armor around his hand and arm as well as his legs and thigh. A fitting and intimidating mask hides his face with it baring an appearance of a monster. Underneath his attire, it would be difficult to guess the ninja's true racial class, but he was firmly of the Heteromorphic race as a Half Golem.

"Have you found something?" asked the player sitting next to the ninja, a player by the name of **Nubo**.

"Indeed, my friend!" Nishikienrai jovial voice confirmed, sounding rather exorbitantly happy. "Listen closely my friend, for I'm about to share with you a most wonderful secret!" He paused, allowing for the anticipation to build as he held the attention of the clan.

"Get on with it!" **Blue Planet,** a druid, urged.

"Fine, fine. My friends, I discovered a hidden dungeon!" He declared.

Chatter and questions immediately sprung up after the ninja's revelation. While everyone else were growing excited, Shirou kept to himself. That was not to say he too wasn't feeling the buzz and excitement in the air, but it came with a sense of familiarity. After finding and entering many, it slowly became a routine rather than a monumental moment like it was in the beginning. However, he wasn't complaining. Another dungeon means another possibility of it holding within its wall the possibility of another Servant boss.

"Where is the location of this dungeon?" asked Ulbert, the goat demon voiced carrying a layer of curiosity and cautiousness.

"Helheim. More specifically, within the outer layer of the world, located within a massive poisonous swamp in the marsh."

"You wouldn't happen to be talking of the Poisonous Swamp that is home to the Tuvegs are you?" Bukubukchagama asked.

"The very same."

"A moment please." One voice sprang up, belong to none other than Tabula the resident's clan intellectual. "Correct me if I am wrong, but did you not once travel to this very same swamp yourself EMIYA-san?"

"I did and I think I would remember a structure or something of that nature. But I didn't, and all I saw were poison marshes and dying trees."

"There's also another matter of other players performing aerial recon over the swamp as well and for them to turn up nothing. I should know, I've seen the recording and I agree with EMIYA-san's word that there was nothing that would indicate building or structure for a dungeon." Backed up Tabula.

Nishikienrai chuckled, sounding awfully pleased within himself.

"EMIYA-san, when you journeyed there did you happen to fight the Tuvegs by any chance?"

"…I did."

Shirou confirmed the half golem question, confused on what exactly his fellow clansmen was getting at with his question.

Nishikienrai continued to chuckle for a few more seconds, and by the sound of it he was smiling along the way.

"Where as EMIYA-san fought the Tuvegs, I on the other hand avoided them completely!"

"Forgive me, but I'm still doubtful Nishikienrai-san." Another voiced objected, being none other than Punitto Moe, the clan's strategist.

"Tuvegs have an annoying mechanic where they will shout and alert any nearby allies or even tribe. Making them an annoyance to fight as all it would take is one misstep and you'll be fighting a small group of slippery worms." The Death Vine continued.

"Do you doubt my skill? You wound me so, Moe-san!" Nishikienrai playfully prodded, but the Death Vine didn't rise to the bait. "In case you might have forgotten, I specialize in one shot kill assassination thanks to my build's specs. Stealth is the name of the game, and I can very stealthy." He boasted.

"All I had to due was play it safe and kill any Tuveg in my way as quickly and quietly as I can. Once dead, they won't be able to call for back-up and I get to continue unhindered. And that's what I did." Nishikienrai crossed his arms and held his head up high. Content to stand and bask in his friends stunned silence. None more so speechless than Punitto Moe.

Shirou too was impressed. He remembered the encounter with the poisonous worms. The poisonous marsh for which the monster made their home was a difficult area to fight and maneuver in. The thick sludge like water would limit any player's movement. That's also not considering the poisonous smog that fills the air.

To traverse without being detected in such difficult circumstances was well deserving of praise.

Shirou momentarily tuned out the discussion where the group were talking and discussing Nishikienrai's build before Touch Me stopped the group from getting even further off topic.

"Now, now. Let's continue before we get more off topic. What can you tell us about this dungeon Nishikienrai-san?"

"Right, apologies Touch Me-san. The dungeon is located deep within the marsh. Almost separate from the swamp itself on a small mass of land. It is called the Tomb of Nazarick." He regaled.

Some of the member quickly mumbled to themselves, testing the name. Shirou was willingly to admit the name certainly sounded quite ominous.

"That still begs the question, how was it that the dungeon wasn't discover before with an aerial reconnaissance?"

"From the sounds of it appears that the dungeon can only be happened upon under specific conditions. Just like Titan's Crystal Cavern." Shirou added, alluding to the location and the events that transpired in the past.

Several of the members, namely the ones that were there with him, nodded along, seeing the correlation.

"If we take all that we know and compare Nishikienrai-san and EMIYA-san journey, we can see the clear distinction and perhaps the conditions for which the Tomb appears. It seems that the dungeon is only accessible to those that travel on foot while stealthily avoiding any enemies along the way." Tabula theorized.

Shirou nodded in agreement. It certainly wouldn't the first that this has happened to them.

The magus could name off the top of his head a number of location and dungeons that had specific conditions attached to it. Some small and simple that involved a certain number of players or even time or day or month. Other examples include ones with specific conditions and small window of time that it was accessible. Such as the Field of Everfrost that Shirou came back from. A timed event that was inaccessible for only a single month out of the year. Or even this rumor Shirou heard of an ancient city within Midgard that was only accessible under a specific date within the year, and a specific time.

"Since it hasn't been conquered yet, why don't we have a go at it!" Nishikienrai proposed excitedly.

This got everyone talking again. Discussion and speculation only grew more pronounced as everyone threw in their own opinion. Some agreed, others were on the fence.

"We could always just throw EMIYA-san at it." Luci*Fer playfully offered.

"You give me too much credit. Small dungeons and arenas I can handle. If you remembered Luci*Fer-san, there were plenty of dungeons that I've discovered and couldn't conquer on my own and needed everyone's help with." Said Shirou, downplaying his prowess.

"There's also the mystery of what kind of dungeon this Tomb of Nazarick. I do not doubt EMIYA-san's skill, but we cannot simply rely on him forever." Momonga added.

"Add onto the fact that this dungeon has been kept hidden for so long, it clears that it won't be an easy one. It might even require a fully stocked Legion to tackle. Even with EMIYA-san's build." Said **Whitebrim** , backing up his two companions' concerns.

"All the more reason for **all** of us to try it." Nishikienrai countered.

"So far, we're the only the one that know it exist, that means we have a monopoly on it. We can default to trial and error if the dungeon proves too risky and large. Stockpiling everything we can such as layout, routes, monsters, possible traps, and even bosses for when we finally conquer it. The more of us there are, the less likely we'll be caught off guard should something unexpected happen. Besides that, it has been a while since every member of Nines Own Goals have been in attendance. Why not celebrate such an occasion with this?"

And he was right. While the clan did have regularity scheduled meeting every two weeks or so that never guaranteed everyone would show up. A majority yes but not everyone. Different time table, schedules, and matter of their personal and work life could and would get in the way occasionally.

There were even times where Touch Me himself have missed them due his personal life.

"I agree." Said the silver paladin. "It's been a while since all of us have been in attendance. What better way to mark this occasion then for all of us to conquer this unexplored dungeon together!"

Several of the members shouted in approval over Touch Me's passionate declaration. Shirou could still see a few were skeptical of the situation but kept to themselves for now.

"For now, we can discuss more of this later. Is there anything else they would like to share? If not, then there is something I wish to say."

Hearing no objections, Touch Me and proceeded to drop quite the bombshell.

"I would like to dissolve the clan."

For a second all was silent. Every single player frozen stiff at the paladin's words. That quickly passes and all of Hell was raised as everyone immediately jumped to their feat and began to talk over one another. Loudly at that.

Shirou immediately jumped into action; recognizing the situation at hand. A situation he too has made in the past and far too many times than he could count in his long life. Something that he still holds over his head was his lack of tact and awareness with his wording, that often to lead to misunderstanding more times than he could count.

Before the commotion could spiral out of control, well more than it could have, Shirou intervened.

"Everyone Quiet!" A subtle application of Alteration to help his vocal cords, allowing him to speak loudly and clearly for all to hear. He also slammed both hands against the table for good measure.

All discussion immediately died down at Shirou's outburst, their undivided attention on him.

"Touch Me…" Shirou sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please reconsider what you just said, and what you truly mean. Because I know you have no ill will to suddenly get rid of all that we worked for."

As everyone stared at the World Champion, they could all see the dots slowly connecting within Touch Me's head. It wasn't long before the metaphorical light bulb inside his mind lit up in understanding. After a few seconds it finally dawned on Touch Me the severity of his words.

"Ahahaha..."

He let out an embarrassed and sheepish chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck. Suffice to say, many were not happy at the heart-breaking news that Touch Me involuntarily delivered.

"I can see why my chose of words could be misunderstood."

"Geez, you think?" Was Ulbert scathing retort.

Others grumbled alongside the archdemon and others glaring at the mistake. Touch Me for his part cleared his throat and rectified the situation.

"Apologies. What I meant to say is that I wish to dissolve the clan in order to reform it into a full-fledged guild."

'Oh's and 'Ah's' could be heard from the players hearing Touch Me's true intentions.

"Couldn't you have just started out with that instead of dramatically stating you were going to disband the clan?" Shirou couldn't help but deadpanned at the rather glaring oversight.

To which Touch Me responded another weak chuckle along with a shrug.

"Idiot." Ulbert scoffed.

"Well, you know what they say. Hindsight is twenty-twenty." Another member of the clan sitting next to Ulbert quietly added. **Arcadia**. The two shared a quick laugh at the World Champion expense.

"Moving on." Touch Me cleared his throat. "Since we've grown in size, I believe a Guild would be much more suited for all of us. Are there any objections."

No objections either.

"I would also like to make a follow up announcement. For the guild, I shall be stepping down from the leader position." Touch Me once again made another shocking announcement. "I hope you all can understand." He bowed.

Quietly, everyone turned to one another, unsure of what to do next. They would go through with rejoining to be a full-fledge guild. Of course, this brings up an entirely new dilemma. Who would be the Guild Master than?

As each player looked over one another, evaluating their fellow peers for who would be the best fit for the role. It was actually Peroroncino that gave the first candidate.

"I vote for EMIYA-san!" He boldly announced.

"Hmm, good choice." Said Luci*Fer

"I agree, he would make a great leader." Yamaiko also supported.

Other members quickly agreed with small mumble and praise here and there. It was namely Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Touch Me, Momonga, Amanomahitotsu, Tabula, and Yamaiko that were the his staunches supporters.

"Sorry, but I have to say no." Shirou answered.

First came the abrupt silence then came the questions.

"Everyone, everyone!" Touch Me raised his voice quieting down everyone. "We should not force him into the position if he is not willingly. But I'm sure everyone would like to hear your reasoning EMIYA-san."

It took a moment for everyone to finally quiet back down. Satisfied Shirou began.

"Does anyone know the difference between a leader and a commander?" Shirou asked, much to the confusion of his friends.

"Uhh, are they kind of the same thing sempai?" Peroroncino asked.

"You would not be wrong. In a way the two are rather synonymous of one another but they are different. To me a leader is one that can do just that, **lead**. They would need to be one that would motivate and inspire other to work towards a common goal. They would be the one that would guide all those that follow, a beacon shinning up above. Aspiring all others to go and reach far beyond what they thought possible. A commander on the other hand does just that, command and issue orders. In the end, it is the leader that is in charge and the commander that follows." Shirou clarified.

He looked back to his friends, all of whom were silently musing over his words.

To him a leader was honest, trusting, respectful, inspiring, etc… All qualities and traits that Shirou does not believe he possess. At least, not the more admirable qualities. He didn't inspire people to better themselves and improve. If anything, it was the opposite. His time as the Second Magus Killer earned him a fearsome reputation. He was feared, envied, jealous, and so much more by the likes of the Clock Tower and Church. Sure, he was respected for his skill and abilities but that was about it. Not his personability or character. Only his magecraft and skill.

He was the farthest thing from a leader. He could come up with battle plans and schemes, and work in joint operations and with others. He could even give out orders, but they were blunter than they were inspiring. There were indeed times where Shirou did command from time to time. But he couldn't possibly lead. If anything, it was better if **he** had someone in charge to lead and issue command for him to follow.

Sure, in the years since he had joined Nines Own Goal he had selected and lead a fair number of missions and raids for the clan successfully. Shirou would guess that they were equating battle smart and experience to be the same as a leader. Not necessarily an incorrect correlation but it was a misnomer.

Give him an obstacle and directions and he would see it through easily.

Give him control over others and he would flounder around like an idiot.

He knew who he was. What he was.

Just his Origin and Alignment, he was a sword.

A weapon. To be used when fit.

To be wielded and given a purpose. To either cut down any and all in his path or to protect. Never was a sword to lead but rather the wielder.

"So, you see yourself more of a commander than. Is that what you're implying EMIYA-san?" said Touch Me, understanding the message the humanoid player was trying to get across.

"I still think you'll be a good leader EMIYA-sempai." Peroroncino defended.

Shirou sighed ruefully and gave the avian player a grateful nod.

"I appreciate the goodwill Peroroncino-san, but my answer is still no."

"Drop it brother. We should respect EMIYA-san's wishes." Bukubukuchagama added.

"Alright." The golden archer reluctantly did so. "But, if not EMIYA-sempai then who else would be good enough to be the Guild's leader?"

"A leader…" Shirou began. "doesn't necessarily have to be the strongest, or smartest, or even the most graceful. They would need to be understanding, and supportive. To know the goals and desire of their fellow allies and have the will to see it through. Someone that any one of us can go and trust explicitly."

Someone that was well trusted and known.

Someone that willingly to put the goals and well being's of everyone first and foremost.

Someone like… Momonga.

"Momonga." Shirou absentmindedly said out loud.

"M-Me!" The skeletal necromancer exclaimed in surprise. Even pointing a finger at himself in emphasis.

Hearing the accidental proposal for Momonga's name the rest of the players quickly began discussing. Shirou also noted that the level of support going around was much like when Perorocino's threw his name in the ballot. Whereas he received roughly half the number of supporters from his close friends, Momonga on the other hand received full support. Nearly everyone had something positive to say about the undead player.

Besides his usual knit of friends consisting Momonga, Touch Me, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Amanomahitotsu, Yamaiko, Tabula, Warrior Takemikazuchi, and Nishikienrai; everyone else he considered amiable at best. He would consider them allies but not friends on the level as those closes to him. There were even a few that he would even say he dislike interacting on a daily basis. Reserved for Ulbert when the two butt heads. And Luci*Fer whom was quite rude and antagonistic at times for Shirou's liking.

Momonga on the other hand got along with almost everyone on a level that Shirou himself couldn't accomplish even his stay with YGGDRASIL. Thinking about it Momonga was the perfect choice for the position.

Sure, were he to be elected as Guild Master no doubt, they would follow either out respect or obligation. However, he knew there would no true willingness when it came to some of the members. He was neither close enough nor friendly enough with everyone that he knew every member of Nines Own Goal to Momona's extent. Momonga on the other hand would be one that he and his fellow clan members would follow willingly. Himself included.

Shirou did felt a bit guilty through Momonga under the bus but he knew the skeletal player was capable of leading them. Despite his crippling lack of self-confidence.

"I-I… I mean…there has to be someone better than me!" Momonga flounder about.

"I concur. Besides EMIYA-san I too believe you would next ideal choice." Punitto Moe threw his support in for Momonga.

"Following the criteria laid out by EMIYA-san, you do fit into a number of them Momonga-san." Bellriver added.

"I'm sure that I don't even qualify for even half of the qualities EMIYA-san said!" He shouted back. Momonga could feel the anxiety starting to get to him. The memories of his talk with his manger came racing back to the forefront of his mind. How fate was conspiring against him, thrusting him into a position that he loathed but could do nothing about. He felt he was one step away from having a panic attack.

He wasn't brave, or charismatic, or any of the traits Shirou noted to be a leader. He had always been a follower and now they were asking him to lead.

"I think everyone is over estimating me! There's no way I can be the Guild's Master!" The Overlord tried to rebuke.

"You give yourself far too little credit Momonga-san. You'll do fine" Tabula waved off his concern and assured.

The others quickly threw in their support but Momonga was deaf to them as he mulled in his own self-deprecating thoughts. First it was this morning with the sudden promotion and now his friends were trying to push him into another big and important role.

He wanted to scream and yell, " _Why_?!" Why did they think he would be the one to lead them? He could literally name anyone off the top of his head that could reasonably do a better job than he could.

Instead, his shoulder sagged and slouched in his chair. His head lowering and staring at nothing. Seeing this the rest quieted down. A few were even concerned, worried that they were pushing their friend too far despite his reluctance.

"Momonga." Tentatively, Momonga looked towards Shirou. His first ever friend within YGGDRASIL. "I know you may not think yourself as capable or deserving and maybe you're right. As you are now that is true. But you possess a trait that I believe if crucial to be a great leader."

"What's that?" He asked tentatively.

Momonga didn't know how or why but he knew Shirou was smiling, at and for him.

"You are humble, Momonga-san. You know exactly what you're good at and where you fall short and you're not afraid to admit it. But that does not mean you cannot learn, it doesn't mean you cannot grow and develop. You may stumble, you may doubt, you may even fall and fail completely but there is no other player I would rather follow besides you Momonga-san. Should you fall, we'll be there to pick you up. Doesn't matter if you fall once, twice or even a hundred times. I-no we'll be with you every step of the way."

Momonga looked at every seated member, gauging their looks and stance. Despite the virtual masks of their respective characters Momonga could feel the weight behind their gazes. No judgement or scorn present, merely silent support.

"D-do you…Do you really think so?" Momonga eyes returned back to his first friend.

"I know so." Shirou replied confidently.

No more words were exchanged as everyone waited for Momonga's answer. The room fell into a deep silence seemed to stretch endless. Finally, Momonga slowly rose from his seat and stood straight up. He casted his eyes around the table one more time and cleared his throat.

"I-I… I will not say I am happy or excited that you all have so much trust in me. It's rather scary actually…" Momonga chuckled nervously. "But seeing you all putting your faith in me. I-I'll try and give it my all! I know there will be many areas where I will fall. I know I may even be unreliable at times and no doubt there will be problems. All I can ask of you is that you please be patient. And should I ever stumble and fall, that you would be there to help me back up. Would…that be acceptable?" He finished, is words; a silent plea.

And his friends were there to answer.

"You already know my answer, you have my support Momonga-san!" said Shirou.

"And so, shall I." Touch Me was next.

"Me too!" Peroroncino followed up.

"And me three!" Bukubukchagama quickly joined in.

This continued on until all players from the table gave their open support.

"Then I shall take the position of Guild Master and I shall endeavor to make you proud!" Momonga promised. He bowed to them as the group cheered and applauded. "And as my first decree as Guild Master…what should we be called?"

Momonga started off strong only to peter off timidly at the end with the question.

The group collectively blinked at the same time, though it was impossible to tell that on the surface. Huh, that thought never did cross their mind.

"Why not keep the clan's name?" Ancient One questioned.

"There is nothing wrong with Nines Own Goal, but for a new Guild to rise from ashes of our clan, a new name would be appropriate." Touch Me vouched.

"Out with the old and in with the new eh?"

"What about Ultimate Evil Supreme!" Ulbert exclaimed.

The rest of the players turned and gave the goat heteromorph an incredulous stare.

"Ulbert-san, we're looking for a name that would be **respected** when we make our debut." Touch Me quipped. The others snickering in agreement to the rather chunni name.

"Get bent!" Ulbert retaliated angrily and sulked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How about guild Rock Hard!" said Peroroncino.

It took a few seconds before the rest caught onto the innuendo and collectively groaned. Peroroncino on the other hand snickered like a madman only to get hit in the head by Bukubukuchagama.

"The Avengers!" **Tigris Euphrates** decided.

"Pretty sure that's copyrighted." Bellriver burst his friends bubble.

"Yeah, besides what the heck are we even going to 'avenge' anyway?" Wish III wondered.

"Got any ideas EMIYA-san?" Warrior Takemikazuchi asked.

"Hmm, how about…Phantasmal Apostles?"

Shirou would fully admit that he ripped the name from their respective categories of Phantasmal Beasts and Dead Apostles and just slapped them together haphazardly. Their group was one that consisted of Heteromorphic races, either monsters, demons, beasts, and anything in-between. Hence the idea and inspiration.

A couple of the players nodded their head at the name. Testing the name in their heads and agreeing that it was quite a cool name. Certainly, a lot better than the ones offered so far. There were still others on the fence.

"Perhaps we should keep on going until we exhaust all other opinions." Amanomahitotsu suggested.

And so, for the next fifteen or so minutes everyone was spit balling ideas and names hoping for one to stick. Some good and others horrendously terrible.

Here are but to name a few:

"Monster Mashup."

"Total Underworld."

"The Legion of Heteromorph."

"Champion of Heteromorph."

"Freakshow Circus."

"Send Lewds." Two guesses who suggested that.

"Monsters in the Closets."

And lastly, "Heteromorphic Zoo."

It was slowly looking like Phantasmal Apostles would win the poll until at the last second Yamaiko and Warrior Takemikazuchi began arguing a different name that payed homage to the clans name and origin. Sometime later the name of 'Nines Own Goal' morphed into 'Ainz Ooal Gown.' In the end Ainz Ooal Gown won over Phantasmal Apostles. Not that Shirou minded it at all.

"With that done, all that's left is form the guild and invite everyone. I shall dissolve the clan then." Touch Me waved his hand and opened up his menu. A few presses here and there and Shirou received a pop window that said [Clan Nines Own Goal has been officially disbanded.]

"Momonga-san, if you would do the honor." Touch Me prompted.

"With pleasure." Now it was Momonga that opened his own menu and a few presses later Shirou and everyone else received a new notification.

 **|||||Momonga has sent you a Guild invite. Do you wish to join "Ainz Ooal Gown"? [Yes/No]|||||**

Hitting yes on the invitation Shirou was greeted with the sound of a happy chime. The sound persisted as every guild member accepted the invitation.

When the last chime rang Nines Own Goal was no more. In its place stood a new guild; Ainz Ooal Gown.

"As my first official decree as Guild leader of Ainz Ooal Gown I say we conquer dungeon that Nishikienrai-san discover!"

The group easily gave their support with their cheers. But Momonga wasn't done just yet.

Momonga gulped, his mouth suddenly dry for what about to come next but he steeled himself through. This would it, to prove not only to the other but also himself worthy of the title of Guild Master.

"Not only that, but I say we shall also conquer The Tomb of Nazarick in one try!"

It was almost comical how quickly the group and atmosphere went from boisterous and merry to speechless and alarmed in a split second.

Even Shirou was surprised and caught off-guard by Momonga sudden brazen declaration. Such a bold statement didn't fit the usually cautious and careful undead player.

Naturally, Momonga's rather outlandish declaration received quite the uproar.

The most prevalent issue being that nothing was known about dungeon. Had Momonga simply said that they would try and beat the dungeon regularly the guild could have employed Nishikienrai idea of maintaining the monopoly on the tomb. They would have slowly and carefully learned everything they could before mounting the final assault. That way their chance for success would rise as they continued to learn more and more about the dungeon. Instead, now he was suggesting that they throw that all away and weight it all in one large gamble.

To walk blindly into danger would be courting death itself.

Surprisingly, there was a small minority that supported Momonga's crazy idea.

Warrior Takemikazuchi laughed, his voice full of mirth.

"A Guild Master only for a few minutes now but I see you're kicking things off with a bang, eh Momonga-san?! I say let's do it!" He declared. This motivated some of the others to vocally show their support.

"Absolutely not!" Punitto Moe objected vehemently. "Momonga-san, please do reconsider!"

"It's not like this the first time we've head in blind before." Argued back Peroroncino.

"On lower leveled dungeon, sure. But that's only because we got lucky. We have no idea of the difficultly of the dungeon nor what it might entail." Tabula returned.

"What do you think EMIYA-san? Think we got a shot?" spoke Warrior Takemikazuchi, turning towards the guild's resident dungeon expertise.

"It's not…completely impossible. While what Tabula-san say is true, there also a certain luck factor to it." Shirou answered carefully.

"That still leaves a big possibility of us failing speculatively." Punitto Moe rebuked.

"Come on guys, have you all forgotten. This is a game, a _game_!" Warrior Takemikazuchi said aloud, his hands pressed squarely against the table surface as he stood up. "So, what if some or all of us would die, or that we'll lose a piece of our equipment, it's all part of the game. It's all a part of the fun! Or have you all forgotten that?"

"We have not forgotten Takemikazuchi-san. But that doesn't mean we should do this with reckless abandonment." Said Bellriver. "We should also think of the consequences. We stand more to lose than just our equipment."

The four-armed heteromorph words did give pause to some of the supporters. Shirou understood where he was coming from. Going from the emotional high they experienced at the beginning to now, it would be more reasonable to ride the high and play it safe. Momonga's plan was one of high risk but equally high rewards. Should the group fail it would leave a damaging precedent for what's to come in the future. The same could be said for the reverse should they emerge victorious. It would lay the ground works for the future of Ainz Ooal Gown.

The argument would have gone further had not Momonga not stepped in.

"I understand how ridiculous and crazy I sound when I said it. And in some way, it's a willful and selfish wish of mine. I understand your concern; your fear and I do not blame you for this. However, I still think should do this. Because I believe we **can** do this. You all elected me to be the Guild Master because you all saw something within me. Something that was worth leading and worth following. Now I am asking if you're still willingly to follow me. Will you help me in this foolish quest?" Momonga lowered his head and waited.

For a moment all was silent as their friend and newly appointed leader plea continued in their head.

"Hearing your heartfelt plea, how could I say no. I shall stand by you Momonga-san!" Touch Me vowed.

"You're already know my answer, Momonga-san!" Warrior Takemikazuchi spoke next.

"You can count on us." Shirou followed up.

More and more were throwing their hat into ring. Hearing the overwhelming support, Bellriver turned his friend.

"We've made our beds Punitto-san, it's only fair that we lay it in." said Bellriver, his voice oddly acceptance.

"…I still don't agree but…but doesn't mean I won't try my damnedest to see it through." Said Punitto Moe reluctantly.

Hearing the two staunchest opposers of his idea showing their support inspired the others to join in. Hearing all the support from his friends and allies Momonga felt his chest swelling with pride and joy. To see that they would stand by him even with his crazy request. Straightening up he addressed them all.

"Then it's decided!" Momonga boomed. "Then I, Momonga, the newly appointed Guild Master of Ainz Ooal Gown hereby declare our first quest! The conquest of the Tomb of Nazarick!" Ending his speech, a lone clenched skeletal fist was raised high into the air, punctuating his declaration.

"Oh!" The others followed suit, rising from their seats and followed their leader's act. Twenty-nine arms were raised followed by hearty shouts.

And so, began the conquest of The Tomb of Nazarick.

* * *

 **Omake: The Archer class is really made up of Archers. (Inspired by Dante Evans)**

When Peroroncino had taken the sheet off Shirou had expected a number of items or weapons, instead what revealed was indeed something he did not expect.

There, lying on the trolley was a plain bow. A simple wooden blow that was more commonly associate with low level players. Hell, even Unlimited Blade Works was just as surprise as he was, somehow, of the weak item.

"So, what do you think EMIYA-sempai?!

What did he think of it?

Well, for starters Shirou couldn't just outright say what that the bow was a piece of crap.

Even he has learned some tact over the years. Instead, he just looked at the useless bow in his hand helplessly, trying to find some redeeming quality for the item. Only to come up very, very short. Leading to him just standing there staring at the item like an idiot.

"Would you look at that, he's speechless!" Warrior Takemikazuchi said.

Well, he's not wrong on that part but Shirou was speechless for an entirely different reason besides what they were probably thinking of.

"Let's head to the range and give it a spin!" said Peroroncino.

Before he could even form a reply they had dragged him towards the training ground.

He would at least humor his friends at the very least. Notching back an arrow Shirou chose the further target dummy away. Calculating his aim he let the arrow fly.

The arrow soared cleanly through the air only to then transformed and split apart into several smaller copies of Kanshou and Baukya.

Which then cracked and shattered to form its gun alternate mode and somehow _**shoots**_ arrows of all things out there barrels.

Only for the the arrows to then meshed together mid flight to form a life size recreation of a fully colored and detailed statue _**Archer** _of all people.

Archer, whom was also gave him the middle finger as he sailed towards the dummy and exploded on contact.

He would later swear that amidst the explosion he could heard the phrase **_"Fuck You"_** being uttered in a voice very reminiscent of Archers.

Once the rubble and dust cleared, there lying on the ground where the dummy once stood was the exact same copy of the plain bow Shirou had used to fire the arrow in the first place.

"I...Who...how...wh-what...?" Shirou uttered dumbly, unable to truly say in words what he saw happened before him. Back and forth he looked between the bow in his hand and the one on the field. His brain unable to comprehend or make sense of what exactly he just happened.

He had so many questions.

What the heck just happen?

How the hell did they programmed the bow to did what it did?

Why did they even do it in the first place?

How the hell did they managed to get completely accurate description of Archer! Of all people.

And perhaps the most important question in his mind, why did the statue of Archer of all people was flipping him off.

Slowly he turned back towards his friends to ask and gauge their response.

"What?" That was the only thing he could say.

"Hmmm." The three of them hummed as if what had just happened was expected and not something completely and totally bizarre even by Shirou's standard. Their blase attitude didn't help either.

"Hmm, would you look at that. The Archer class is really made up of Archers." Amanomahitotsu commented.

The three of them nodded along as if what the crustacean heteromorph had just said was some kind of sagely or profound statement. When in reality his words were quite literally the literal meaning of his sentence.

"So what do you think EMIYA-sempai?"

"...I think I need a drink." Shirou responded, nursing his head.

* * *

 _Meanwhile at Kaleidoscope HQ_

Within his office Zelretch waited, his legs bobbing up and down in restrained giddiness for what's to come next. He quickly pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.

"Should be any second now..." He mumbled under his breath.

Indeed, because he door opened in walked in the same forgotten, and disgruntled manager that had the misfortunes of being the one to go to Zelretch in order to clear up any misunderstanding.

"Morning Alex." Zelretch greeted, once again getting the name of the manager incorrect. "I'm guessing you have some questions." He asked, seemingly acting all innocent.

"Yes sire. So, what you are saying sir is that you want us to program a near completely useless feature/effect to every and all bow items within our game just so on the off chance that if or when this players picks and uses one of them it would fire something completely random and catch him off guard. Which the probability of said player using another and most likely inferior bow for this feature to be worth it would be an extremely low percentage. And this would most likely be a one time gag as now the player would be completely aware and cautious, thus would avoid using any other bows besides the one that he posses because it does not possess the coding of every other bow of having it firing random projectiles." The employee lowered his tablet with all the information and instruction that Zelretch outlined in and looked at the Dead Apostle dead in the eye.

"Yes." He answered with a straight face.

"...Of course sir, when you like this to be done?"

"Huh?" Zelretch blinked. Ok, he was willing to admit, that was not the response he was expecting consider the disgruntled manager reactions in the past when he came to Zelretch with the crazy hairball ideas and implementations.

"That's it? No screaming or saying what a complete waste or time, effort, and energy this would be?" Zelretch questioned.

"I've learned that it's better for everyone's sake, especially my own to not think about it and just do it." He answered serenely. "When would you like to have this done sir?"

"Err, get it done by next week Robertson." Zelretch answered, a bit taken back his the manager's nonplussed attitude at his usual crazy antics.

"Right away sir." He replied and walked on out. Not even so much as a twitch or reaction when he called him again by another wrong name.

"Well, that was anticlimactic. Hmm, maybe I should think about finding a replacement for ole' Jerry. What do you think Sparkles?" Zelretch asked, turning back towards his desk where a goldfish of all thing was on his desk.

" _Pooop, pop, pop pop."_ The goldfish _'said',_ more liked pop'd in his water bowl in response.

"Hmm, an interesting idea Sparkles but I don't want to defer to that option just yet. I've actually grown fond of Ricardo and I'm surprise to say this but I would be quite sad if he takes a one way trip to a mental institution for your idea."

" _Pop pop pop, pop. pop."_ The fish ' _replied'_.

"Hmm, a good idea. We'll wait and see where this takes us."

* * *

 **Word Count: 21,410**

 **One of my beta, Zero, suggest that I start putting a small bio/glossary for the listed Noble Phantasm that I used in the chapter and I thought it was a neat idea to incorporate. Note, that these are the virtual/YGGDRASIL game counter part. Thus they won't always fit the original Fate verse abilities and would be more in line with the Overlord continuity. Basically, think of them with a game mechanic mindset for certain abilities such as the Hassan's abilities and attack.**

 **[Luminosité Eternelle: God is Here With Me – Divine Tier Battle Flag]: Barrier Noble Phantasm. Rank: (A-).** The holy battle flag belonging to Jeanne d'Arc. Much like its real world counter part the Noble Phantasm relies on the players [Resistance] stat. How potent the protective shield from the Noble Phantasm depends heavily on high the players [Resistance] stat. With one high enough capable of withstanding magics and skills of 10th tier or lower. It also possess the ability to protect and cancel out any attack that would normally be considered an instant-kill. The shield can last for three minutes at the maximum.

 **[Οριο: The Chains of Prometheus – Divine Tier Chain]: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm. Rank: (A).** Οριο roughly translate to 'Bound' in Greek. One of the few Noble Phantasm created by Shirou through YGGDRASIL. He is capable of projecting and shooting the chains around him to bound and wrap up any enemies he chooses. The chains are fairly long and fully capable to holding down numerous players, mobs, NPC, and bosses depending on their size. They cannot be broken by conventional means and must require either tier magic to cancel it out, teleport away, or break it.

 **[Gungnir: The All-Seeing Spear – Divine Tier Spear]: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm. Rank: (B to A-). I** ts YGGDRASIL counter part works very similar to Gáe Bolg and possess the ability of sure-hit when used. When projected on its own Gungnir simply on part with an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm. But when empowered, requiring an expenditure of MP being pumped into it, it is upgraded to Anti-Army and can take out multiple foes instantly. For every subsequent kills that Gungnir performs it able to strike again, leading to chain kills after chain kills. Allowing the weapon to theoretically take out any and all enemies within reason of its strength.

 **[Zabaniya – Delusional Heartbeat]:** Noble Phantasm and special attack of the Assassin co-boss; Cursed Arm Hassan. It is an instakill attack on par with 9th tier magic and skills. The attack is capable of bypassing any and all resistance a player against instant death skill and spells. This attacks can only be used three times in quick succession before the boss must replenished its charges. The only real form of countering the skill is to stop it a 10th tier or higher barrier spell or prevent the attack from connecting.

 **[Zabaniya** **–** **Delusional Illusion]:** Noble Phantasm and special ability of the Assassin co-boss; Hundred Face Hassan. The skill is a passive ability; allowing the the boss to spawn a near limitless number of Hassan copies to storm the field. However, these copies are vastly inferior to the original and one good skill or spell will break them. Also, why Assassin can spawn an endless supply of them only 100 hundred copies are allow to present at the same time.

 **Author's note:**

 **1\. Two scenes of massive importance would the scenes revolving around Momonga. The first where it shows him "accepting the promotion in the beginning and the end where he's selected as the Guild's new leader.** **In the Overlord LN prologue part 1, when I read it and couldn't help but get the distinct opinion that Momonga simply accepted the role of Guild Master because he felt pressured into it. Sure, it worked out in the end as shown at the beginning of the series, but at that moment in time he wanted nothing to do with the position. In the original, after Touch Me steps down they suggested Momonga to take up the role of Guild Master, one that he's denying and trying to pass on. However, he ultimately accepts not because he really wanted to, but because he was afraid. Afraid that the guild that he considered family would break apart.**

 **You can look at similar to peer pressure getting to him. He** **felt pressured by their expectation and didn't have the courage or will to try and argued even further.** **He didn't do it because he truly believed in himself, but to appease the others. A reluctant acceptance if you will, where he felt pressured in a way by the expectations of his friends and guilds.** **You can see this when Tabula, Bellriver and Punitto Moe sends him messages saying they would join him regardless if the clan reformed into a Guild or if he leaves an makes a separate one. And in his mind if something had happen to their group he would felt it was entirely his fault. So h** **e lied down and rolled with the punches.**

\- **That was why I styled chapter 5 the way that I did. In the beginning, I wanted to emulate the same feeling of pressured acceptance by having Momonga accepting the managing position (Note: a position with quite a lot of responsibility and oversight over others. Similar to a Guild Master role.) Showing a similar response to his canon self where to he accepted the position not because he wanted or chose to but because he felt pressured into it with little motivation or say in the matter.**

\- **An** **d when it came to my actual scene where Momonga accepted the role of Guild Master, I wanted to create a contrast. Whereas before Momonga simply let others walk over and simply accept it despite his beliefs and extreme reluctance I wanted the scene to show him actually growing on his own. That HE is making the decision on his own, rather than letting he decision force him into the role. Yes, he is still reluctant and yes, he still believes it might not work, but he will still try and isn't afraid to ask his friends for help.**

\- **S** **ame ending but different path taken to get to the end. Both taking up the mantle of Guild Master, but where the original was out of pressured reluctance, I wanted mine to be his first step to the bold and charismatic leader of Ainz Ooal Gown that is seen in the LN and Anime. Helped in part with Shirou's inclusion into the story and actually making subtle but important changes to the canon of the story.**

 **2\. Some might question why I had included the scene where Shirou is being gifted the gun-sword-hybrid trick weapon. Well that was due in part, because I wanted to give him similar to his EMIYA Alter counterpart (:P). More seriously however I wanted to show that Shirou just as he was influencing them, the guild and his friends were also influencing him.**

\- **The idea for this scene was further characterization of Shirou and showing a positive impact on him during his time with his friends and the clan. The scene was to make a point that gifts are sort of a foreign concept to Shirou, and as suggested by one of my beta, Dante, and as we thought about it no one had ever really given Shirou a gift in the main fate verse. Kiritsugu wasn't the gifting type, Taiga was a freeloader, Rin wasn't any better than Kiritsugu, etc…**

· **The scene highlighted that, while yes the weapon wasn't all that great it was the sentiment that was truly worth it. Showing a small, and perhaps subtle change where maybe Shirou never once felt comfortable or worthy enough to be gifted something to accepting one from those he could truly call friends.**

 **3\. The Omake. The idea actually spawned from two sources, the first being the initial concept for the hybrid weapon his friends would gift them. While we were listening ideas we could use, we quickly divulged into rattling out crazy ideas and alternate modes. We then had fun making jokes where Shirou would use one mode of the weapon for it then to break down into another, and another. Our thought process was, what was the most ludicrous thing we can pack into the weapon.** **Then we doubled down, eventually coming up with the idea of the series of events that took place in the chapter when Shirou used the bow.**

 **The second inspiration came from the classic line in UBW spoken by Rin to Archer. "The Archer class is really made up of Archers." Hence the idea where when Shirou fires with his bow, its just random chaos. Ahh the Fate series, producing some most obvious and face palming quotes such as "Just because you're correct doesn't mean you're right." or as I had shown "The Archer class is really made Archers." And my personal favorite "** **People die when they are killed!"**

 **With that said and done with, thank you all for reading. Please, do leave a review if you enjoyed it and if there are any mistakes, criticisms, or concerns. I don't wish to sound to preachy but reviews really do mean a lot to both myself but also my betas. As it shows that you the reader are clearly interested in the work and effort we put in to pump out these chapters. They are perhaps the best motivation to help us pump out quality chapters like these. Food for thought.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**

 **Next Chapter: The Tomb of Nazarick.**


	7. The Conquest of The Tomb of Nazarick

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **Hey! Would you look at that, a new chapter and this one didn't take three-four months to make! All joking aside, here's the latest chapter and a massive one at that. Nearly almost 40K words, which is a massive step up from the last chapter which was around 21K. But hey, more content for you all. So I do hope you'll enjoy this one as this was perhaps one of the more challenging but fun chapters I've ever done. And I'm quite proud of it if I'm being a bit honest.**

 **This chapter will be covering the second part of the Overlord Prologue, the conquest of the Tomb of Nazarick. Once again, if you have not read the original source material, I would highly advise you to do so. It would certainly help to compare and contrast the two and see where my story takes it. As I had added and change some things, while subtle at first would develop more in the future.**

 **I would also like to use this time to thank you all, for all your support. The story managed to break over 100k views, and thank you for all the kind and supportive reviews and comments. I know I can't answer them all but do know I do see them and are mindful of them when I write.**

 **Once again, I do have another massive and extensive authors note at the very end, highlighting and detailing my thoughts and decisions on the scenes and events in the chapter. So if a part or section of the story of the chapter you would like some more clarification on, there where to go for any lingering question or concerns.**

 **With that said and done with, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Thank you to Cloud Link Zero and Dante Evans for their help and betaing the chapter.**

 **Beta'd: Cloud Link Zero and Dante Evans**

 **Word Count: 38,836**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – The Conquest of the Great Tomb of Nazarick**

 **December 29th, 2132. World: Niflheim. Piercing Crystal Plains. Recommended level: 80-85**

Within one of the far corners of Helheim lies a location called the [Piercing Crystal Plains]. The Plains were one of the many locations that dotted the realm that was as equally hazardous as any normal wondering monster. On first viewing, one could mistake the frozen vegetation to be made of ice. In reality, they were but it was not any ordinary ice. No, these were sharp icicles and inflicted damage whenever trampled upon. The deadly blades of crystal razor glass were nothing to scoff to either as the Piercing Crystal Plains were among the furthest in the territory of Helheim. Designating it as a location requiring players to be around level 80-85.

Further along, the grassy lands of the plains receded, growing grotesquely and haphazardly, leading to the Poison Swamp. A thick and almost permeating smog divided the two locations.

Standing but a few meters away from the Swamp stood the guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown. Well, from outside looking onwards they wouldn't see twenty-nine players milling about. Save for an almost invisible, shimmering dome that hid them from the outside world.

[Mirror World]. A 10th tier illusion spell that forms an invisible, one-way viewing bubble. The bubble kept them hidden but also granted them a sight to the outside world. Allowing them to observe and plan without any worry. It also possessed the ability to deflect attacks should any be headed towards those insides of the spell's range.

There were also other numerous defensive spell and wards surrounding them in addition to [Mirror World].

Such measures were necessary, not only to protect themselves from any wandering monsters and POPs that would aggro for one reason or another but other players were the bigger threat. The very last thing their group needed was the possibility of any PKers catching wind of them and follow them.

The location provided a good staging ground from which they'll journey forward. Allowing them to recon the entire surrounding and map out the shortest possible path to the dungeon. In addition to scrying, the area for any possible invaders or players that were could be observing them from afar.

For their maiden venture, the newly formed guild pulled out all the stops. Inside, the twenty-nine players of Ainz Ooal Gown were decked out in their best and strongest equipment. With each possessing secondary equipment and items to avoid any environmental status ailments. Health and MP regen potions were distributed to every appropriate player.

In the bubble stood Momonga, his avatar the Overlord stood imposingly and stoically. In reality and in the inside, he was sweating up a storm. His heart hammering against his chest like drums. His skeletal fingers twitching every odd second.

There was little noise within the bubble save for the occasional discussion and callout by Nubo, Flatfoot, and Nishikienrai as they coordinated themselves.

And in the almost ambient silence, Momonga was left contemplating his thoughts. The last hour or so was a blur to the skeletal necromancer. Somehow, he went from being in a clan to being elected as the Guild Master from said former clan. Most of his thoughts, however, were taken up by his declaration. That they, Ainz Ooal Gown, would travel to an unexplored dungeon and conquer it in one attempt.

He wondered what exactly emboldened him to make such a crazy promise that was completely out of his character. At the time he promised to himself that he wouldn't regret making the decision. Only to break that promise no more than ten minutes later.

The nervousness from it all plaguing his thoughts were more than a little self-destructive.

He carefully glanced back to everyone, all twenty-nine players that vowed to follow him. It wasn't the thought of failing the dungeon that rattled him. But rather, the thought that he might fail them.

The sheer thought of him disappointing them and letting them down weighed heavily on his shoulders.

What if he fails them?

What if they get angry at him should they fail?

Would they blame him? Hate him?

What if they quit—

 **[Message]!**

The notification cut through his self-deprecating, knocking him out of his self-induced trance. He blinked in confusion, wondering who might be trying to message him and why they were using [Message] instead of just going up to talk with him directly. The rest of the guild was milling about, some sitting and going over their inventory, others having their weapons drawn at the first sign of danger, and others standing about waiting. Confused and curious he opened the [Message] and recognized the sender.

"EMIYA-san?" He answered back, quick through [Message] so he didn't disturb anyone.

"You're nervous, aren't you? That we might fail. And you're probably thinking heavy self-deprecating thoughts like we would all hate you for it or something as equally ridiculous."

"I-how did you know?!" Momonga's eyes widened hearing how Shirou nailed his thoughts down to a T.

"Because you just told me." It took Momonga a second to realize that Shirou tricked him into confirming his suspicions.

"I can never get anything past you can I, EMIYA-san?" Momonga let out a rueful chuckle.

"We have been friends for a long time Momonga-san, I would be a poor friend and a blind one if I haven't caught onto your defeatist attitude and crippling lack of confidence yet." He answered back with a hint of amusement in his voice before getting serious. "You know you can trust me. Are you angry at me because I nominated you instead of taking the position of Guild Master myself?" He asked.

Momonga paused for a moment before opening up to his closest friend and confidant.

"No…I don't think I could ever hate you." The magic caster fully admitted. "When I said we should go to conquer the dungeon on our first attempt, it was a spur of the moment. I wanted to prove to you all that I would be the leader you all think I will be. That your faith in me wouldn't be misplaced. Now I'm afraid that if we fail, you all would blame me for it. That you would hate and resent me and lea—"

"Our trust in you wasn't misplaced." Shirou interjected firmly. Momonga silently gulped at his friend's no-nonsense tone.

"Do not believe just because you're now our Guild Master that you must bear all the burden on your shoulder. Anyone of us could have said no or rejected the idea, but in the end, we all agreed. We all agreed and made the decision to do this together. To follow you, our Guild Master. No matter how absurd or impossible it seemed. And that hasn't changed." Said Shirou, his voice softening and supportive.

"I'm just worried…" Momonga admitted.

"And that's fine. Anyone in your situation would be as well. But it is only when you let your doubt, your indecision clouds your judgment and stop you from asking for help, only then would you have completely failed. We trust you Momonga-san, so please trust in us as well Momonga-san."

"I do. I really do. It's just myself that I don't completely have confidence in."

"Well, we trust you. So, if you cannot believe in yourself, then believe in us who believes in you."

Despite the serious nature of their conversation Momonga couldn't help chortle a little at his friend's quirky phrasing of his encouraging words.

"Since when did you give corny lines EMIYA-san?"

"What can I say? I have my moments. Even if the line was stolen from a series I was forced to watch while stuck in the hospital."

This time the two shared a short laugh. While the conversation did not completely erase the apprehension he felt, he did feel better.

"But what if we do fail? What if I fail?"

"…Then endure, learn from your mistake, and move forward wiser then you were before. And we'll there to give you a pick me up." Leaving Momonga on that note the [Message] ended. Alone once more Momonga played back his friends words. He felt comfort from Shirou's encouraging but still, the thought of failure wasn't so easily wiped away.

Momonga pushed the matter aside for now. On time as well as the others were finished.

"Finished my scouting Momonga-san. I can say for certain that we're in the clear, no scrying or inspections spells of any means on us." Reported Nubo.

"Same. Checked everything within a good 300-meter radius of us. No other players besides us insight that might be spying on us." Flatfoot detailed.

"Finished mapping out the easiest and safest route to the dungeon. We should be able to avoid most of the enemies if we take it steady and quietly. Still, we should be prepared just in case things go south." Nishikienrai cautioned.

The three reported, and with that preparations were complete along with counter-measure set.

"I see…" Taking in a deep breath and releasing, Momonga walked to the front and faced his friends. The conversation with Shirou still fresh within his mind.

"Everyone! Are you ready?!

Each player flashed a thumbs-up icon, showing they were. Momonga nodded and turned back to Nishikienrai.

"Lead the way Nishikienrai."

"Roger!" With a crisp salute, he led the guild into the Poison Swamp.

The next ten or so minutes were spent in relative silence. As they trekked through the poisonous terrain the group was engaged in small conversation to pass the time as well as keeping them alerted. As his fellow guildmates and friends filtered through different topic and discussions to pass the time he was seized with a moment of loneliness.

His thoughts traveled back to his friends and their individual lives. Each player from a different walk of life, but all united under one common theme. And it is that they love this game, this virtual world they inhabited.

Then he thought of his own. A lifestyle where he was alone and where the only ones, he could truly call friends and companion are those he never met and would never meet. The thought of them leaving the guild, leaving him, and the fear of being alone once again just like in real life ate at him.

Dark thoughts began to form and where normally they would consume his mind, he held them back. But he did not full dismiss them. Instead, they remained in the back of his thoughts; kept there as a reminder.

He felt an additional surge of motivation filling him up.

Using an analogy, if his life was like a Visual Novel, then that could be considered the true Bad Ending. Then all he had to do was avoid it at all cost.

They placed their trust in him and he would make damn sure he sees this through!

"We're here." Nishikienrai voice cutting through the chatter, and everyone silenced.

There, almost cut off from the mainland of the swamp was a miniature island of sorts. The dense fog that surrounded the Swamp was nowhere to be seen on the cut-off land. From their position, they were able to spy various stone structures held up by old and worn pillars. Long-stone archways circled around the area with broken walls providing minimal protections. Its massive front gate was open as if enticing the player to enter. Through the front gate, the guild was able to spy a massive mausoleum-like building within the center.

"Alright, Nubo-san, Tabula-san, and Garnet-san. We shall first survey the surrounding for any possible hostiles in the area. I don't trust those shitty devs not to do so." Momonga voiced.

A round of agreement followed after his order and they got to work.

Momonga easily recognized the structure and esthetic of the dungeon. Typically, areas with structures such as these typically involved undead monsters to fit the theme.

As an Elder Lich and thanks to his racial and job classes, he was the guild's go-to player when scouting for any undead presence.

"[Remote Viewing]."

Activating his spell, an arcane eye appeared. With precision and skill, he controlled the flying organ and directed through the gate. His eyes alert, waiting to see if he would pick up on anything. Focused, he surveyed the entire island, looking for any possible enemies hidden in the shadow. However, none triggered his radar showing that there was no undead present.

"I finished surveying the area, no undead reaction by the looks of thing."

"Same, I don't see any possible monsters wandering around either.

"There's also no magical traps in place so we should be safe to walk right on in."

One by one the reports came in. Deemed safe, at least on the surface, the group nodded to one another and marched forward. Caution was still taken, with the vanguard at the front of the group and the rearguard watching their back. Everyone knew better than to take anything within YGGDRASIL at face value.

As the group stepped onto the island a text appeared in their HUD. The title of The Great Tomb of Nazarick appeared with an icon next to it. Indicating that the location was an unexplored dungeon.

As they marched forward Momonga was finally allowed the time to take in the surrounding.

Most of the ground functioned as a massive cemetery if the various tombstones were anything to go by. Many of which were destroyed or old with moss and vines intertwining. The same could be said for the numerous statues lingering about some of angels, others of woman and man. More than a few were broken with pieces of a limb or entire bodies gone. All a testament to what this place once was. It certainly helps to build up a creepy vibe for the dungeon. Momonga would give the devs that much.

More interestingly there were four other buildings similar to the large main one in the center. They were located in the four-cardinal direction of the center mausoleum.

"Tigris Euphrates-san, Flatfoot-san." Momonga called out.

"Yes, Momonga-san?"

"Need something?"

"Do you see those small tomb-like buildings at the far edges? I need you two to recon the area, just in case they might be alternate entrances."

"Can do."

"Roger."

The Ranger and Assassin raced towards the building following their orders. It was after that they left that Shirou walked up beside him.

"I think we should also send someone to investigate the central mausoleum for any clues or hint it might give us on the dungeon. I'll volunteer."

"I also agree with EMIYA-san." Nishikienrai joined in. "We already know that there are no enemies in or around the buildings. We should be safe to explore the interior."

"Are you sure it's safe? What if it activates prematurely?" Momonga immediately questioned.

"Don't worry. I've seen and been in plenty of dungeons Momonga-san. I won't accidentally trigger it prematurely and I know when to call it quits." Shirou assured confidently.

Had it been anyone else Momonga would assume them to be arrogant. An unknown dungeon meant unknown dangers. But he knew his friend and he trusted him.

"Fine. But, do not push any further than you need to and be careful." The Guild Master counseled.

The two nodded.

"I suggest we split up. I'll recon the interior while you take the surrounding, Nishikienrai-san."

"Fine by me EMIYA-san. Remember, if you see anything run." The ninja forewarned.

Shirou nodded and the two were off. The silver-haired player racing forward and up the stairs and swiftly into the building. Nishikienrai formed flickered and he was off, stealthily double checking the perimeter for any clues. Both with the objective of learning as much of the dungeon beforehand, before they fully commit. Even just the tiniest of information would go a long way.

While the two were away the group made their steady march before reaching the very base of the massive stairway. Sometime later Tigris Euphrates and Flatfoot reported back in. The four tombs along the outside were empty and seemed to only serve as esthetics. Hearing their reports Momonga gazed back at the structure.

"While it is certainly large, I do wonder if this entire tomb is all that the dungeon has to offer." Momonga pondered.

"I doubt it, more than likely the dungeon is the basement of the building." Tabula offered.

"Then that leaves the matter of how long and expansive the underground would be then." Punitto Moe tapped his foot against the soiled ground. "You can fit an awful lot from plain sight."

"Nazarick…Nazarick…" Momonga muttered, testing the name. "It doesn't sound remotely like any Norse mythology I've heard of. Nor does it sound Latin or Greek or even close to Japanese."

Momonga had hoped that the name would sound familiar, if not to him then perhaps his friends, and that it could at least provide them with a little bit of insight. YGGDRASIL drew from plenty of mythology and legend, not just from Norse mythology that was its name's sake and inspiration. Often times they would tie in many myths and themes into their world and dungeon. Unfortunately, it seems more likely that the name belonged to no mythology at all and simply a name created by the developers.

"We'll wait for EMIYA-san and Nishikienrai-san to return before continuing." Momonga advised.

Through Blue Planet, the druid cast the 10th tier divine spell [Nature's Shelter]. A bunker formed from the earth. Entering, the guild was allowed a moment to relax and unwind. All they could do now was wait until the two returned. Which didn't take too long as massive double doors swung open a few minutes later.

The two walked in but Momonga quickly noticed something, their stance and movement were off; tense.

"Alright, we finished scouting the area. And we've got good news and bad news. For a dungeon of this size and scale, along with the architect from some that I encountered in the past. I say there's a high likelihood that the dungeon is guild base-type dungeon." Nishikienrai informed.

Hearing the situation Momonga felt knots forming inside his stomach. There were many different archetypes of dungeons within YGGDRASIL, ranging from city-based dungeon, castle-based, cavern-based, and so on. These were categorized by location, size, and difficulty. A guild base dungeon was among the hardest dungeon archetype that YGGDRASIL had to offer. They were usually massive in scale in order to accommodate and often times located in precariously specific locations within the playable realms.

Of course, the reward for conquering the harrowing dungeon meant they had full authority of the dungeon and its surrounding. A daunting feat in its own right with some of the greatest boon given the players if they succeed.

He could feel the enthusiasm he had been building up slipping again. But now wasn't the time for hesitation.

"…And the good news?" Momonga dared to hope.

"…That was the good news."

"How the hell is that the good news?" Ulbert said incredulously.

"Would you have preferred me saying; we have bad news and horrible news?" Nishikienrai countered rhetorically.

"Then at least start with that! Now's not the time to being facetious!" Ulbert hotly fired back.

Before the argument could go any further Momonga intervened.

"Dare I ask what the worse news is?"

"I did a quick reconnaissance of the inside structure. I spied what seemed to be like five statues along with five distinct hallway passages. I recognize the interior design and esthetic. Unfortunately, they match those dungeons that were classified as simultaneous attack dungeon I encountered in the past." Shirou grimly stated.

And the bad news kept on piling up. This one managed to get a collective groan from the guild. A few throwing in 'shitty devs' and swears around.

Simultaneous attack dungeon. A concept that was universally hated by everyone within the community. Commonly referred to as "die-by yourself dungeons." They were THE hardest categories of dungeons that YGGDRASIL could offer. These forms of dungeon do not follow the traditional route and as the name suggests requires the adventuring party to attack the dungeon in unison. It usually required no less than several parties to be split up within the dungeon. Each party playing a vital role, and all groups must succeed if they had any wish of completing the raid. There was little room for any form of mistakes.

What was worse was that these types of dungeon force the players to commit fully. The dungeon locks out any usage of teleportation spells and items. So, spells such as [Gate] were completely useless. One party wipe could spell the end for the entire raid. Thus, ensuring that if one or two group fails, they all would. Sending a tremendous blow to the group's moral as a whole.

"We should at least look on the bright side."

"And what bright side might that be Nishikienrai-san?"

The rest of the guild waited for the ninja to continue, some holding hope that there was a light at the end of the dark tunnels.

"…As soon as I can think of one, I'll let you know."

His lame attempt at joke earned him several deadpanned looks from the rest.

"Jeez, just trying to lighten up the mood." Nishikienrai mumbled under his breath.

The guild was once again divided with both sides having their own thoughts.

"What are the odds we would find the hardest type of dungeon like this?"

"It'll be a challenge that's for sure."

"More like a waste of time."

"What are the odds that we can actually first time this dungeon?"

"Somewhere around 5.2-to-7.6% chance of succeeding."

"…Is that an actual statistic or did you just pull a random number out of your ass?"

"What do you think, Momonga-san?"

They all turned to their Guild Master and waited for his response.

Caught off guard by the guild member's sudden shift in attention, Momonga was struck like a deer in headlights. He could feel their eyes on him, they were waiting on him.

'You are their leader, so lead!' He screamed in his mind. He was their leader, and just like how he relied on them they too relied on him. He was front and center now and he couldn't afford to be to let them down now.

'Damn it, this is what I get for diving in head first. In hindsight, I have really no idea what to even do in this situation! Ahhh! Ok, ok, calm down and think. Think damn you! They don't need a spineless leader, but a man of action. Someone like…' And then Momonga was struck with an idea.

'For once, stop acting like Satoru Suzuki. Think like Momonga, think like how Touch Me-san and Emiya-san think! What would they do in a situation like this?! Something stupid, no doubt to the normies but maybe that's exactly what we need!' He reevaluated.

He's always been in the background, always watching everyone. His bosses at work, Shirou and Touch-Me. He has seen all of their heroics, their ability to lead and inspire others. Where Touch Me was often bold and boisterous, he gave an aura of determination that no matter what comes at them they'll beat it back. Shirou, on the other hand, was always calm and collected, one always got the feeling that with him leading, there was no doubt of victory. There was a common link between all three of them, they always exude some form of confidence and measure.

'Better yet, why not combine them…' He thought. A wild plan coming to mind.

Unexpectedly, Momonga began to chuckle. His soft chuckling quickly evolved into full-blown laughter. For a moment the rest of the guild wondered if their friend had lost it.

"A simultaneous-attack guild base dungeon! What a welcome surprise!" He laughed jovially, reminiscent of their previous leader, Touch Me. "My friends!" He turned towards them, his arms raised and apart. Like a king addressing his citizens. "It would seem that fate has handed us a worthy challenge. What better way than to show the world the strength of Ainz Ooal Gown! My guildmate, my friends! Do not despair for there is no doubt in my mind that we shall conquer this dungeon! Just all those before it, they shall fall to our might. When we emerge victorious our victory shall taste all the sweeter!"

Momonga declared, his voice carried far and loud. The others were swept up by a sudden and passionate speech and responded in kind. With roars and cheers of invigorated vigor.

In the back, Shirou watched the proceeding of it all. His lips twitching into a small and contemplative frown. While he did admit the speech was passionate and inspiriting, it wasn't him. For Shirou, he was quick to recognize mask his friend put on. Role-playing was always a fun hobby the clan-turned guild indulged in from time to time. Many of the heteromorphic players within the guild built up a persona of sorts to match their characters.

Despite the many insistences and denials from the Overlord of how embarrassing it was, Momonga had quite the talent for role-playing. Depicting himself with a persona that was the complete opposite of how he often acted, meek and polite. His "Dark Lord" persona as his friends tease him on depicted a cool and deadly Player, baring none of his insecurities and epitomized confidence and assertiveness. It was not only that but also the speech itself feeling borrowed in a way as Shirou felt such a bombastic speech was more fitting for Touch Me than his Momonga persona. Even he felt a bit of himself flowed through the speech.

It was almost as if his friend had put on a mask and became someone else. His words still carried with it his own passion and voice, but it wasn't him. Not his true self anyways.

As the guild was riled by Momonga's ardent speech Shirou silently slipped towards his undead friend until he was standing at his side, Momonga none the wiser.

"I do have to say, for someone that's adamant about not into role-playing you sure are good at it." He whispered.

The only sign that Momonga was surprised by Shirou's unexpected presence was the hunching of his shoulders, himself taken completely off guard.

"EMIYA-san…Geez, you scared me!" Momonga whispered back. His voice returning back to his usual polite inflection.

"It was a nice speech...but it wasn't yours." Shirou said suddenly.

"W-what do you mean?" Momonga replied, confused by his exact statement.

"The speech you gave. It was inspiring, but it felt as if it was someone else giving it. I could easily picture Touch Me-San delivering such a speech but not you Momonga-san." He clarified. To which Momonga didn't respond immediately.

His shoulders hunched upwards before slumping just as quickly, a wry sigh leaving his skeletal lips.

"I needed to do something EMIYA-San… You saw how they were." Momonga answered back.

Shirou would admit that. Morale was extremely important and any sudden shift could lead to disastrous results. He understood his friend's concerns, but…

"There's nothing wrong with you projecting a little bit. Whether it be myself or Touch Me or anyone else. But it wasn't you giving the speech, more like a persona."

"It worked didn't it?" Momonga argued back.

"Perhaps." Shirou was willing to concede. "But it wasn't you. And I'm sure some of the others know it and or will figure it out." Shirou repeated.

Hearing Shirou repeat himself again; a small sense of frustration bubbled within Momonga.

"You know as well as I do that I couldn't lead even a child out of a paper bag. I needed something, something that they would truly follow. Out of everyone within the guild, I thought you would understand the most. What they need isn't some insecure nobody, but an actual leader to lead them. And seeing as how everyone thinks I'm more than qualified to a position that I have not even a single ounce of experience leading, excuse me for trying to do what I think works best!"

He replied in a snappish tone, a hint of accusation in his words.

Momonga immediately regretted snapping at his friend. Shirou was just trying to help him out and despite it, Momonga saw some truth in his words. Even he was surprised by the sudden amount of bite and resentment in his words. Perhaps he wasn't speaking the whole truth when he said he was fine when the role of leadership was thrust upon him.

But to his surprise, Shirou recuperated his words.

"I know and I am sorry for throwing you in the deep ends like that." He admitted with a sigh. "But, I still stand by what I said in that meeting. No one starts out as an amazing leader. There's no real or proper method of leading. If you really wish to emulate us, then take after Touch Me-san. Act through action, not words. To me there's isn't a difference between Satoru Suzuki and Momonga. You're my friend and I am yours and so are they." He inclined his head towards the others.

"You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not for us." Shirou softly whispered.

"…Then what do you suggest I do? I don't know the first thing about leading." He finally beseeched.

"I think you are stressing yourself out by trying to do the impossible. Like I said before, no one starts out a great leader. I know that, and no doubt they do as well. You have time to grow, learn, and experience all the trials and tribulations to build yourself into the leader we all know you'll be."

"T-then how am I supposed to lead you guys if I don't actually lead?" Momonga begged for an answer.

"Simple. Trust us, but not just our abilities or competency but also our character. Have faith that we trust you, flaws and all. Just as we do for you. And most importantly of all…" Shirou paused and looked at Momonga straight in the eye.

"Be your own man, Momonga-san…" With those parting words, Shirou left the undead player to muse over his words.

Watching his friend leave Momonga played back the words of caution in his mind. He kind of understood where Shirou was coming from and knew he was just looking out for him. Yet, a small part of him, the one responsible for the sudden outburst couldn't help comment.

 **'Easy for you to say.'**

Shaking away the residual frustration Momonga could focus on the problem later.

The next and most important matter to deal with would be the formation and assignment of parties.

There were five alternate paths reported by Shirou. Five pathways meant five separate parties for each one. With a standard attack party consisting of a maximum of six players. With only twenty-nine players in the guild, it would only stand to reason that one group would be one player short.

The decision for which party would be odd man out came rather easily. Shirou, with his tracing abilities, could easily fill up numerous roles. Primarily the role of Physical Attacker, Magic Attacker, and as the groups Wildcard. He was more than able to compensate for the lack of a sixth player.

That was what Shirou originally thought would happen, only it didn't.

As the parties were being finalized by the group's resident raid expertise, Punitto Moe, Shirou noticed a small discrepancy with the format of the parties. It wasn't just himself but Momonga as well. The two shared a look and quietly and politely took Punitto Moe aside to talk to.

Shirou saw mainly two of the teams were unbalanced or rather overbalanced to be accurate. The two being Momonga's group, consisting of Ulbert Alain Odle as the Magic Attacker, Warrior Takemikazuchi as the Physical Attacker, Bukubukuchagama fitting the role as the Tank, Yamaiko as the Healer, Nishikienrai left as the Seeker and Momonga being the role of the Other.

His own party consisted of Variable Talisman as the Tank, Tabula as the Magic Attacker, Blue Planet taking up the role as Healer, Touch Me as the Physical Attacker, Tigris Euphrates was the Seeker, and Shirou was the group's wildcard.

Rather than balancing out every single group, it seems they were instead putting all their chips on Shirou's and Momonga's party. With both of their parties consisting of the guild's best players and powerhouses. That's not to say the other group were given the boot or consisted of entirely of the weak members, but it was clear that those two were composed of the best within Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Moe-san, are you sure it's a good idea to have all the eggs in one basket? What about the others?" Momonga questioned.

"I would be lying if I said I believe we all will make it through to the end. Maybe we will, or maybe we won't. But it's always a necessity to have a fallback plan. You twelve are the best players within the guild. Should it come down to it, it'll be your groups that will have a high likely hood of clearing the dungeon if all else failed." The Death Vine bluntly admitted.

Shirou and Momonga exchanged looks.

"…He does have a point Momonga-san."

"…I know…" The undead sighed. Perhaps it was a bit foolish and naïve of him, but he believed that they, all of Ainz Ooal Gown would make it to the end. No, it was more like he wanted them to all succeed, to make it to the end. He wanted everyone to bask and celebrate together when they conquered the dungeon.

"Don't look so down Momonga-san! If there's anyone with that can see this through then it would be yours and EMIYA-san's party. After all, it's only right that the Guild Master should be the one that clears dungeon. If not us, then for yourself Momonga-san. Wouldn't you say so EMIYA-san?" The death vine looked to the magus for support.

"My sentiments exactly, Moe-san."

Hearing their praise and trust, Momonga responded in kind. "Then I accept your trust and I shall endeavor to see this through completely!"

"However, I also expect you all to give it your all. It would hardly be a celebration if there's no one to celebrate with." Momonga made them promised.

"As you command Guild Master." The Death Vine mock saluted and the three shared a group laugh.

The guild assembled at the base of the large stairway that leads up to the mausoleum. The architecture was long and massive as if to accommodate for players or monsters of any size. As they climbed the steps, they felt their trepidation but also their excitement rises as they ascended higher and higher. While the thought and prospect of fighting through an extremely challenging dungeon were frightening, they couldn't but feel excited. The sense of adventure for what could lurk in the unknown and nervous excitement fueled their desire to see this through all the more.

Finally, they reached the entrances and walked in, their surroundings quickly going pitch black as there was no light source to illuminate the entire interior of the tomb.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the five stone statues that Shirou warned of. Much of the statue were cloaked in shadows, their form, and features obscured by the darkness.

"Who dares enter and desecrate the noble walls of the Great Tomb of Nazarick?! For such insolence, you all deserve a thousand deaths!"

A loud voice boomed and angrily demanded.

"Fools no doubt, driven to gluttony by their greed. Turn back now and perhaps we shall show mercy and spare your lives. Only the truly foolish dare continues forward!"

A different voice spoke, this one feminine with a haughty undertone.

"Or perhaps it is bravery which drives them. A spark of determination perhaps."

The third voice simply said. His tone and voice sounding much older than the previous two.

"Brave or not, know this intruder, your venture here was but a foolish journey! Foolish! We shall make sure of it."

"Hoooowww fooolllisshhh."

"FFooOOLLlliiIISSsSHhHh…FfffoOOooLllLiiIIIISSSShhhHH…YyyEEEsSSss…"

"YOU SHALL PERISH AND YOUR DEATHS SHALL SERVE AS A REMINDER FOR ALL!"

Another statue spoke, this one containing four distinct voices but belonged to the same speaker. The first, a dark and growling voice similar to a beast. The second voice was more distorted compared to the first, drawl-like. The third was the most distinct, taking on a screechy and ear-grating high-pitched voice. The fourth was the most malicious, filled with anger and bloodthirst.

"It matters not if they continue forward or retreat, their fate is all but sealed. But do try and put up an effort. Or else this venture would be a waste of your time and more importantly, ours."

The final voice was a large contrast to the previous four, perhaps the most normal sounding. Regal but at the same time condescending.

Once their piece was said and done with there was naught but silence. The five pathways were illuminated with light running down the hallways, but they seemed to stretch endlessly into the void.

"Well, Guild Master, any last words before we take the plunge?" Warrior Takemikazuchi broke the silence.

Momonga looked at the people in front of him. His friends, his guildmates...his family. They were made to unite a common goal and rose to become both respected and feared by the other clans in YGGDRASIL. Now, it was time for them to take a leap forward. Each and every name in the party list had their own dreams, fears, and goals. In his head, the words of his first true friend played back in his mind. They already had seen Momonga, the Guild Master speak to them. Now...now was the time for Momonga the friend to speak. Putting up an 'All-Party Message', he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"My fellow Guildmates. We've come to the last point. Beyond this, we will face two things. Absolute Victory, or a crushing defeat. Our little clan, Nine's Own Goal, came together to show exactly what Heteromorphs can do despite our setbacks. Now, look at us. From our humble beginnings, we have forged a new beginning for us. A guild, Ainz Ooal Gown. We've made it farther than we had any right to thanks the tireless dedication we put forward. I, for one, say let us GO FORTH. WE WILL FIGHT, WE WILL WIN!" He threw up bony arms in a grand gesture, uncaring that not everyone could watch this.

"WE SHALL SHOW EVERYONE THAT HETEROMORPHS CAN DO JUST AS SPECTULARLY AS ANY OTHER RACE! THE NAME 'AINZ OOAL GOWN' DOES NOT KNOW DEFEAT! MY FRIENDS, MY COMRADES, TOGETHER WE STAND, OR TOGETHER WE SHALL FALL WITH OUR FISTS RAISED HIGH, DEFYING ALL THAT OPPOSE US TO THE LAST BREATH!" He proclaimed to the Heavens above, his Guild Master persona returning full force.

"OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!" All twenty-nine-player cried out. Their own voice echoing their leader's own. With nothing more left to do, they pushed on forward and towards the unknown. Their goal in sight.

* * *

The first thing Shirou noticed was the surrounding, where not even a second ago they were walking down a narrow, single path hallway. His vision darkened for only but a second and now he was in a location entirely different. A common room filled with old and destroyed furniture, some even upturned. A steel chandelier hung from the ceiling, the candles casting the room in a saturated and dull luminescent. There was no window allowing only artificial light to provide the players with sight. Cobwebs and dust dirtied much to all of the room.

A quick glance back revealed a stonewall. No doors and no passageways. Nothing to show that they had entered.

The second and most immediate and alarming thing he noticed was his party members. Or rather, the lack thereof.

"Huh? EMIYA-sempai? What are you doing here?" The question came from none other than Peroroncino.

Peroroncino, who was not in his original party.

A swift head count showed that it was himself, Touch Me, Peroroncino, Blue Planet, and Amanomahitotsu that were present. Tabula was completely gone and unaccounted for. One player missing entirely from their party and two other members were swapped around.

It took a few seconds before the rest of the party recognized what was going on.

"Shit…" He cursed under his breath.

It wasn't too hard to figure out what had just happened. The dungeon had split up their original pre-made party.

"Tabula-san." Shirou quickly used [Message] to contact the Brain Eater.

"I know." Tabula simply returned.

If there was one person Shirou could rely on for quick and decisive action and order, it would be the Guild's resident intellectual.

"We're down a player, you. Variable Talisman-san and Tigris Euphrates-san are also gone. Peroroncino-san and Amanomahitotsu-san have taken their place." He informed, getting straight to the point.

"Damn it..." The magus heard the eldritch heteromorph click his tongue. "I'm with Wish III-san's party and they lost Whitebrim-san and Garnet-san. The only good news is that we still have a full and decent party."

"The others will no doubt be confused as well."

"Just when I thought those shitty devs couldn't get any shitter, they pull this." Tabula lamented.

"We'll have no choice but to make do." Shirou simply answered back.

"And isn't that the kicker? We've come too far to even think of stopping now." Resigned Tabula. "Check up on Momonga-san and his group, I'll check up on the others."

"Roger." Cutting their transmission Shirou established a new [Message] with Momonga. After a few seconds, he received a response.

"EMIYA-san? Is something wrong?"

"Momonga-san, is everyone still in your party?" He asked, cutting right to the chase

"Ehh? Umm…yes…?" He answered, confused about his sudden inquiry.

"It seems your party was lucky than Momonga-san." Shirou lightly commented.

"Lucky? What are you…Oh-no…" Momonga whispered in a tiny voice. The situation dawning on him.

"The situation is bad, but it's not unsalvageable, Momonga-san." Shirou was quick to assure. The last thing they needed was for their Guild Master to suddenly degrade to his usual pessimistic attitude.

"What about the others? Were they affected as well?" The undead asked after calming down.

"That seems to be the case. The dungeon seemed to have swapped around the compositions of our parties. Good news is that things aren't as bad as they look. The other parties can still manage. Our group is the one missing a player, but I am more than enough to compensate."

"Damn shitty devs. I didn't think they pull a stunt like this so early in the raid. So much for Moe-san's planning."

"It's bad but it's not impossible. We'll keep you posted Momonga-san. If worst comes to worst, it'll be all up to you Momonga-san."

"We'll see…Good luck to you and your party EMIYA-san."

"You as well."

The two gave their goodbyes and ended the call. Turning back to his party the rest of them were waiting on him.

In the end, Shirou's party and roles were switched around to better accommodate. Touch Me was more suited as an attacker but has the skills and specs that he could function as the party's off-tank. Peroroncino was relegated as an additional attacker, a ranged attacker. Blue Planet as the healer, obviously. Amanomahitotsu as the group wildcard by default. Leaving Shirou to fill whatever role or expertise that was lacking, whether it be Physical attacker, Seeker, or Magical attacker.

It wasn't the most ideal of situations, but they would make it count.

With that matter settled then they moved into formation. At the front stood Touch Me and Shirou as the vanguard with Peroroncino as the rearguard. Blue Planet and Amanomahitotsu made up the middle, ready to support either the vanguard or the rearguard.

Opening the door, they moved onto the next area. Shirou half expected them to traverse through an underground complex or something similar that complimented the tomb-like esthetic of the dungeon. Instead what greeted them was a hedge maze. It stretched far and wide making it difficult to even determine which way was right and which way was wrong. The green labyrinth had towering hedges severing as dividers and walls. A misty veil blanketed the surrounding granting the maze an almost queer and movie horror feeling to it.

Fortunately for them, the ceiling was high and open to them and they had just the right man for the job.

"Peroroncino-san, we need eyes in the sky. See if you figure just out how large this maze really is and find out where the exit is." Shirou instructed.

"Roger that sempai!" The avian replied as he spread open his wings.

"Be careful, I bet those shitty devs accounted for players with flight capabilities. There might be magic traps guarding the skies." Blue Planet warned.

"I'll be fine! No stinking trap or anything will ever take down the great Sky King: Peroroncino!" He proclaimed loudly as he launched himself into the sky.

His form was quickly enveloped by the mist a few moments later.

"Since when has anyone ever called him that?" questioned Blue Planet. To which they all simply shrug, chalking it up to his usual antics.

While Peroroncino was doing that, Shirou scanned the area and strained his hearing as far as it could go, watching for any sign of trouble. So far not a single monster or enemy has popped up nor could he hear anything from inside the maze itself. This only made the situation more suspicious.

It would take a few minutes before Peroroncino returned to them.

"What are we looking at Peroroncino-san?" inquired Touch Me.

"For starters, the maze is huge!" Peroroncino emphasized. "Like, one wrong turn and you can get completely lost kind of huge."

"Were you able to find the exit? Where we're supposed to go?" asked Amanomahitotsu.

"Sure did, and the best thing is fog doesn't cover up as much as it looks. I'll be able to tell you guys all the dead routes and where to go."

"Then we'll leave it to you to guide us through the maze." Said Shirou.

"Copy that, EMIYA-sempai!" Taking the air once more Peroroncino hovered just above all the hedges and where they all could still see and hear him.

The group was soon underway and entered the hedge maze. Following his directions, the group traveled deeper into the maze.

Even with Peroroncino's observation of the maze and its sheer size and scope, Shirou knew there was more to it than just a winding labyrinth. The developers would not put something as harmless as a maze of all things without some danger hidden within its shrubbery. But if there were no enemies present to hinder them than what was there?

Traps were the obvious answer. Only they continued with no form of resistance whatsoever for a good five minutes.

But as they continued further Shirou came to understand it a bit better. There was more to the hedge maze than a simple walking puzzle.

Every turn, every path looked identical to the last, making the journey almost indistinguishable. The surrounding looked the same no matter how many turns or paths they walked down. After a while, it became hard to distinguished if they're going the right way or not. It all blended together, making the maze seem almost incomprehensible. Tight and narrow walkways enclosed by tall muted green hedges. The mist acting as a veil, obscuring just enough of what's in front of them.

Shirou could see where the challenge lies if a party did not any form of advance sight magic or flight as their group was implementing.

Any wrong turn would prove disastrous, forcing players to backtrack down very similar surrounding they had just walked through. Ones' sense of direction and equilibrium would be easily distributed, leaving the party in confusion. Any mistake, no matter how small would be disastrous and lead to the party getting lost. And while there might not be any enemies to hinder them the challenge of trying to figure out where to go would leave them stalled and making everyone else's progress that much harder.

Like a house of mirrors, the concept of direction was distorted the longer they reside in this maze. Left becoming right, moving backward to traverse forward.

There almost was like a psychological bent to it. The very maze itself was playing tricking the mind via their senses and surrounding.

"Turn right here you guys." Peroroncino instructed when the party stopped at an intersection.

Taking their nth right turn group marched down another identical path. But this time, things were different.

"Hold it." Shirou stopped and held up his arms, signaling the others to stop as well.

"EMIYA-san?" Touch Me spoke.

Without a word, Shirou traced a simple longsword in his hand and tossed it forward. The weapon landed blade up and not a moment later dozens of spears shot out of the surrounding hedges.

Had the group continued they would have been impaled and taken a lot of damage, maybe even killed.

When they had entered the maze Shirou remaining completely vigilant. While he wasn't Nishikienrai or Tigris Euphrates and could 'see' and 'sense' traps befitting those of the [Rogue] or even [Assassin] class his hawk-like eyes and sight were sharp enough to get the job done.

"Whoa…nice catch EMIYA-san." Blue Planet complimented.

"Thanks, but I wonder why we haven't encountered any traps beforehand." He noted out loud.

"Perhaps the developers didn't use any traps earlier in the beginning because they wanted to lure us into a false sense of security. Making us think this entire labyrinth was "safe" so the traps would catch us off guard. Sounds like a scummy thing they would think of." The crustacean heteromorph shrugged.

With the danger of traps in their immediate future, they would need to play it safe from now on.

In the back of his mind, Shirou couldn't help but wonder if this was all there was. It wasn't challenging as it was tedious and time-consuming. If so, then was he a bit disappointed with it all. He had expected a lot more when it comes to the rather infamous reputation of simultaneous attack dungeons.

What happened next proved him wrong.

"Where to Peroroncino-san?" Shirou questioned. The group stopped in front of another intersection, this time with five alternate pathways.

"Err…take the second path to the left then turn right." Following their guides directions, they came to a yet another long pathway.

Projecting several weapons, he measured the distance and threw them evenly to trigger any possible traps. They landed triggering a few traps to activate. Deemed safe Shirou took the lead. He managed to walk a few paces forward before the true trap activated.

A magic circle flashed to life the moment the silver-haired player stepped forward.

"A magic trap!" His eyes widened at the hidden trap.

He rolled forward to avoid it only to trigger a second magic trap the moment he recovered. This time he was too late to escape.

The trap detonated, lightning and electricity shooting upwards. Electricity coursed through his body as he let out a surprise and pained yelp.

"Damn…I got careless." He chastised himself as he dropped to one knee. It didn't hurt him as much as his HP indicated but damn was it painful regardless.

"EMIYA-san! Are you alright?!" Touch Me rushed to his side and helped him up.

"I'll be fine." Taking his hand Shirou was backed on his feet.

"Why the hell didn't the trap trigger just like the others?" Peroroncino questioned out loud.

"Clever. By luring us in at the beginning on the prospect of there being no traps it leaves us open for the physical traps to get us. But they are also merely another part of the ruse as we would be too far focus on looking out for physical traps that we would disregard or forget about the possibility of any other traps." Analyzed the party's blacksmith.

"Question now is how to deal with these magic traps? They clearly have a different activation trigger than the others." Raised the druid.

Narrowing his eyes Shirou traced another weapon and broke it. Firing it forward the weapon exploded and prematurely triggered another magic trap. Seeing his idea was a success Shirou fired a few more, clearing the way through.

"Well, that was easy." Amanomahitotsu commented.

With the presence of magic traps sprinkled in they had to be extra careful now, just in case, the maze had other nasty surprises in store for them. Reducing their journey even further to a crawl just to cover all their tracks. It would take them another ten or so minutes before they finally reached the end. At the end of their tour, they came upon a massive wooden cellar door that leads further down to somewhere.

With Touch Me's help, Shirou and he managed to open it. There, a set of perfectly carved stairs leading further down. Torches lined wall providing the only form of light. Walking down a seemingly endless flight of stairs they came to the bottom finally. They entered an underground complex.

Well, a complex wouldn't be the correct word, more like an extensive stone courtyard fitted underground, that stretched out before them. Stone pillars dotted the surrounding holding the ceiling above. What stood out of the chamber and the surrounding was the architecture wasn't completely natural. The designs of the floor, archways, and pillars were too polished, too smooth, too man-made for any of it to be naturally occurring. Looking up, rows of sharpened stalactites hang from the ceiling looking down on them. At the end of the room lies another set of a closed double door.

So far, the only form of opposition they have faced since entering dungeons were traps. And he was willing to bet the entire room was filled with it. Wide open spaces lead to numerous pathways that can be taken to lead to the door at the end. The only issue was that Shirou wasn't too just how many of them there were.

Once Shirou finished examining the entire surrounding a plan came to mind.

"Alright everyone listens up." He addressed. "We've wasted enough time already back at the maze. It's time to speed things along. Peroroncino-san, on my signal I want you to use the most area-covering skill you got. We'll try and trigger most if not all of the traps simultaneously. Blue Planet-san, ready your most powerful barrier spell.

"Right away EMIYA-sempai."

"Understood."

The two affirmed. Taking to the air Peroroncino floated at the right attitude to unleash his skill. Once in position, they commenced the plan.

"[Trace Bullet: Burst]!"

"[Bolt Scattershot]!"

Shirou fired a salvo of weapons across the room, as much as he could in order to maximize the number of physical traps preemptively triggered. Peroroncino unleashed a volley of solar arrows, their design was to trigger any magical traps his swords might have missed. They immediately huddled up for the fallout that would come.

"[Gaea's Virtue]!" Blue Planet quickly erected a barrier around them, shielding them for what's to come next.

As Shirou had hoped their attack activated a bunch of the traps, setting them off simultaneously. He would almost say he got them all though that was a debatable claim as the countless explosion and rocking from the trap going off made it difficult to tell which was caused by the traps and which were caused by their skills. The entire room shook like crazy, explosion and other manner of ear-deafening sounds bouncing off the walls and reverberating inside the cavern. The stalactites hanging from the ceiling shook loose and plummeted to the ground. Every spike sending tremors throughout the room, threating to cause a cave in but the pillars managed to hold. It would take a full minute before everything died back down.

Once everything had settled down Blue Planet dropped the barrier allowing the group to take the new altered surrounding. The once spotless stone courtyard was gone, a wreckage of its former self with numerous cracks, broken tiles, burn, scorch marks and large stone debris covered the area.

"Hwoooo" Peroroncino whistled. "Great idea EMIYA-sempai. Ha! Come on! The last one to the door is a rotten egg!" The golden avian egged on as he raced forward.

The others were quick on his tail.

"Slow down Peroroncino-san, we can't rush forward recklessly." Touch Me called out.

Peroroncino halted allowing the others to catch up.

"Come on you saw what we did, we totally got them all!"

"But that doesn't mean there might not be other surprises. Knowing the shitty devs I wouldn't put it past them to put a second trap right after the first. There's the chance one or two might have not triggered." Cautioned Amanomahitotsu

"Oh, come on Amanomahitotsu-san. What are the odds of tha—"

 _Click._

Peroroncino dismissal died as the entire group froze upon hearing the clinking noise. As one they turned towards the avian sniper. More specifically his feet, where one of them happened to have landed on a pressure plate.

Robotically Peroroncino turned his gaze back towards the rest of the party.

"Well fuc—AHHH!"

Peroroncino was taken by surprise and sent screaming along with the others as the ground beneath gave away. The trap seemed to have caused a part of the floor where they stood to descend rapidly. The harsh sound of stone grinding against stone filled with the air as the floor descended lower and lower. Gravity was against them, their bodies in free fall.

Finally, the ride came to an abrupt stop. Gravity and momentum took effect, causing the players to bounce harshly against the floor due to the turbulence. Aside from some tiny damage to their HP they were fine. Albeit a bit disoriented.

What wasn't fine was that they were trapped, enclosed by kilometer-high walls while they were stuck at the very bottom of the trap pit.

"Peroronicino-san, please think and listen before you act!" Shirou reprimanded.

"I'm sorry sempai." He apologized, ashamed at his amateurish behavior.

Tearing his sight away from the regretful archer Shirou quickly assessed the situation. They were a long way down, but that meant there had to be someway back up. A lever or maybe a mechanism of some sorts.

What confused him was the purpose of the trap. He half expected deadly spike traps waiting for them, instead, they had gotten an impromptu roller-coaster ride. Where was the danger, the enemies? There were odd semi-circle holes lining along the walls and stretched all the way up. He had thought that they would have to climb their way upwards using the ridges along the wall as support. At least until he heard the distinct sound of garbled moaning.

The noise picked up; the sound of something scraping against stone come from all around them. It wasn't until he spied a rotten and skeletal head that he realized the implications. Shirou's eyes widened, they were entryways! And by the sounds of it, they were several dozen more to come.

The undead freed itself from the narrow hole and unceremoniously smashed onto the ground face first.

Undead Walker – Lvl: 60

It took a bit of damage, but it was still alive. Unaffected by the drop it shambled to stand upright. It wasn't just the one as more undead popped out from the numerous holes along the wall. Popping out of the woodworks. Their fingers scratching against the stone, desperately trying to free themselves.

While weak and easy to kill the party was in a very precarious situation. Down within the trap pit, the party was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Quite literally in this case. Tight corridors boxed them, and space limited their movement and ability to attack freely and openly. They were boxed in with little elbow room to maneuver about properly. Touch Me couldn't unleash his more powerful moves within such confinement. Peroroncino flight ability was next to worthless as the undead crawling out of the higher holes could just fall onto him. For Shirou, tracing Broken Noble Phantasm level of weapons was just asking for the situation to explode in his face, literally.

There looked to be no sign of the undead stopping from crawling out of Root knows where. Meaning if they do not kill enough of the undead they could potentially see themselves overwhelmed by the sheer rate at which they were spawning.

"EMIYA-san!" Turning, it was Amanomahitotsu and he was tinkering with an odd control panel on the wall. Recognition lit up in his eyes as he looked over the machinery.

"Can you get it on?" Shirou asked the important question.

"Yes, but I'll need time! At least two minutes!" The blacksmith fired back. Normally, the seeker would be the one to disarm and reconfigure the trap. But with no players with the appropriate job class, it was left to Amanomahitotsu working on it.

"Peroroncino-san, snipe down any undead you can! Blue Plane-san, guard and deal with any undead that comes for Amanomahitotsu while he deactivates the trap! Touch Me-san and I will try and thin out their number." He ordered.

Peroroncino raised his bow and fired as quickly as he could, culling the number of undead dropping onto them. Touch Me and Shirou brandished their weapon slicing any that got too close. Blue Planet awkwardly raised his less-than-threatening shovel staff, ready to ward off any that got too close that slipped past the two vanguards.

The undead shuffled forward, their decayed body bumping into one another in the mindless movement. If there was one good thing about the lack of elbow room, he didn't have to worry about aiming as any one of his swing cleaved away at an undead.

Shirou decapitated any that stalked towards him while Touch Me hacked them to pieces. Peroroncino sniped at them from freefall while Blue Planet bashed their heads in, knocking them back with his shovel.

Fortunately, they were low-level mob, being at level 60 making it so that the group didn't have to waste any skill or spells to kill them. One good attack and they were dead. They were killing them fast, sure, but the undead was replenishing their numbers far faster than the four of them could kill. At the rate they were going, they would be knee deep in the undead.

"We're slowly getting overrun here Amanomahitotsu!" Shirou cried out.

"I still need another minute!" He replied back.

Shirou stepped forward, ready to split an undead head wide open when he felt a bit of resistant in his movements. Something clinging onto him. A glance down showed a few undead without legs grappling with his stomach and legs. The shift in weight pulled him off balance for just a second. Enough where Shirou was caught off guard for just a split second that the mobs capitalized on the opening and swarmed the silver-haired player, knocking him to the ground.

They were relentless, pressing forward and dogpiling on him. Shirou quickly raised his left hand as several of the undead bit down on his limb. Their rotten teeth chewing away but unable to do any large damage besides feeling like an insect bite. But it didn't help to resolve the claustrophobic feeling of having so many bodies pressed down on him.

"EMIYA-san!" Touch Me cried out. He advanced to help but the multitude of undead blocked his path.

Raising his right free hand with Kanshou he was nanoseconds away from swinging only to have another undead fall from above. It slammed onto his arm, knocking the Noble Phantasm out of his hand.

Another was rapidly approaching; it hands outstretched to take hold of any prey and its mouth opened wide ready to bite down on anything.

"Trace on!"

As the undead lunged forward it bit down on something alright, but instead of digital flesh it instead tasted cold steel. There, the barrel of the chrome silver and white pistol, Kanshou Alternative was shoved right into its gullet. Shirou wasted no time and fired his weapon, the undead's head exploding and spilling virtual grey matter everywhere. He then placed several precise shots through the heads of the undead biting down on his left arm and body. Free, Bakuya Alternative was traced to join its partner.

"[Reinforcement]!"

His magic circuit fired up, spreading down his arms, legs and onto the married gun. In a move of acrobatic fitness, he swung his body from the ground up, performing a miniature breakdance maneuver to get him back on his feet while knocking down any undead closest to him. Jumping to his feet he lashed out with Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative, splitting the heads of the oncoming undead with the bladed under-end of the guns and firing his guns at any that got too close.

Managing to free himself and regroup with the others he turned his guns towards the crowd of undead. Depressing the triggers, Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative unleashed a barrage of bullets. They tore through the undead easily, riddling them with holes and cutting a swath through the sea of undead. A few of the shots even ricochet, taking out more undead in the process. Within fifteen seconds Shirou emptied all of his shots and in turn taken out most to all of the undead.

"I've got it!" The crustacean heteromorph exclaimed.

Shirou felt the floor kicked for a second before they were launched skywards. Any of the undead that was still trying to escape from the wall was soon crushed to a fine paste by the speedy elevator. Within seconds they were back on the surface before Peroroncino had triggered the trap. Killing the leftover undead proved trivial. And with that, they earned themselves a momentary respite.

As Shirou leaned against a pillar to catch his breath he received a [Message] notifications from Momonga.

"Yo~ Free to talk?" Said Momonga conversationally.

"Momonga…Is something…wrong?" Shirou laboredly answered, still trying to catch his breath.

"Is everything alright?" He asked Momonga's voice laced with concern.

Steadying his breathing Shirou answered back. "We're fine. Just got ourselves out of a sticky situation, taking a moment to recover. How is everything on your end?"

"Our party have been doing fine. We're actually just outside the boss room right this moment. The others have checked in during that time. Punitto Moe-san and HeroHero-san party have started fighting their respective bosses already. Tabula-san party reached their boss recently and [Message] us a few minutes ago."

"Seems, we're lagging a bit behind everyone else, huh?"

"Do try and hurry, we would like this dungeon sometime today." Momonga teased. The lightheartedness in his voice disappeared for what was to come next. "Unfortunately, I also have some bad news as well."

Shirou suppressed a sigh.

"Lay it on me."

"It seems those shitty devs are more sadistic than we thought. From what the others passed on; they each received an announcement once they entered the boss room. Depending on the order of encounter that each party enters the bosses get stronger. With the last party…

"…having to face the strongest." Shirou finished. His face twisting into a grimace.

Shirou understood his friend's concern. Out of all the teams, his group was the most skewered. They had no dedicated front-line tank save for Touch Me but compared to either Bukubukuchagama or Variable Talisman, there was no competition who was better for the role. Peroroncino role as the long-range attacker was useful but wasn't what the group needed. That left as Amanomahitotsu the odd man out as the only aid he could realistically bring was buffing the party with enchantments.

Of course, the fact that he and Blue Planet were present did offset the imbalance, but nothing was guaranteed.

Add onto the fact now they would face the strongest boss within the entire dungeon, they would have a tough fight ahead.

"We can hold off entering the boss room until you find yours, our party is the most well rounded, so we'll stand a better chance than yours." Momonga offered.

"I appreciate the offer Momonga-san, but I'll have to decline. If all else fails and we lose, there's still a chance for you guys to still win."

In a simultaneous attack dungeon should there be a situation where one of the parties fails to defeat their assigned boss the other party has a chance of recovering by fighting and beating it. If it came down to it Shirou's group would try and learn as much of the boss's abilities, attack, and nuisances and passed the information onto them to give them a much-needed edge.

"…Alright." Shirou could hear the restrained reluctance in his friend's voice.

He could understand his undead friend's apprehension. He wanted them to all succeed, to share in the victory together. And by some miracle, they were so close to achieving their goal. All that was left was the home stretch.

"Hey, no need for the doom and gloom thoughts. Leave it to me, after all when was the last time I failed?" He said, trying to cheer him up.

"Well… There was that one time with that dungeon in Muspelheim and the incident." Momonga brought up.

Shirou remembered the incident in question. Were it possible his cheeks would have colored in the embarrassment of the memory.

"That was one time! Plus, it was an accident." He coughed flimsily.

"That accident almost lost us the raid!"

"We still beat it." Shirou argued back.

"Barely. I along with Touch Me-san and Warrior Takemikazuchi-san were dead not even two minutes into the boss fight because of it." He countered.

"Ok, fine. Well besides that one time I've haven't steered you guys wronged yet."

"Midgard and the Forever Lost dungeon." Momonga said, bringing up another incident.

"That was Luci*Fer-san's fault and you know it!" Shirou immediately retaliated.

"Sure…" He drawled out sarcastically.

Not a second later the undead chortled before breaking down into full laughter. Shirou felt his lips twitching and he quickly joined Momonga, sharing in the laugh.

The two shared a short but much-needed laugh, lightening up the previously troublesome atmosphere.

"If there's any incentive I doubt the others will let you guys live down the embarrassment of being the only group to lose so close to the finish line." Momonga playfully teased.

Shirou huffed good-naturedly. "I think you mean Luci*Fer-san and Ulbert-san will take every opportunity to remind me and Touch Me of it. Oh gods, they would be insufferable."

"Then you all have to do is win then." He said, half playfully and half serious.

"We'll get it done, trust me. Good luck in your fight." Shirou regarded.

"And to you as well. We'll see each other at the end." Momonga assured. With that the [Message] ended.

Shirou pulled out a healing potion and used it. Hearing the news that the boss they would fight would be much tougher it was important to conserve Blue Planet's MP for the upcoming battle. It was better to use consumable potions than to rely on their healer to heal them every single time. Those precious MP would be better put to use during the boss fight than a small scuffle.

Back at full health, Shirou informed the others.

"If they have reached their bosses, then ours shouldn't be too far away either." Blue Planet deduced.

"I am more concern about what we will be facing soon." Amanomahitotsu worriedly added.

"It matters naught our foe or how powerful they are. We shall defeat them all the same! We wouldn't want to keep our friends waiting now do we?" voiced Touch Me.

"Well bring it on!" Peroroncino smashed his fist into an open palm. "Like hell, we're going to lose when we've made it this far!"

The party then double-timed it towards the door throwing caution to the wind in the hopes of speeding through and avoiding any possible other traps. Thankfully no other traps triggered, and they made it to the end safely.

Open it, the door leads them to a small darkened room. In the center was something that was referred to as a teleportation circle. Often used and implemented in dungeons as a method of fast travel. Either to different locations or to boss arenas. Shirou was willingly to bet it was the latter. And if that was the case then they'll need to prepare.

The group spent a good few minutes quickly applying buffs, enchantments, and potions in preparation for the fight.

Another thing that proved to be a surprising boon was Shirou's level 10 [Chef] job class. Shirou was capable of creating powerful consumables that provided buffs and stat boosting effects on par with Legendary grade potions and elixirs.

"Everyone ready?" He asked.

The rest of the party flashed a series of thumbs up emotes. Satisfied, the party of five stepped onto the teleportation circle and disappeared.

Once the light from the teleportation circle died down the party of five took in their new surroundings. They appeared to be in some kind of underground ancient temple. The entire complex was massive in scale and size. The surrounding was dotted with old and debilitated buildings caved from the very stones of the cavern that surrounds them. They ran along the walls and lined up side by side with one another. Encasing the player in an arena of sorts. Other, smaller buildings lied scattered about within the extensive courtyard.

The sheer size of the chamber was what surprised him the most. Massive enough to house the entire temple complex. It was hard to say if they were outside or still within the Tomb and simply within an open aired archway that housed the entire monastery like ruins. Dark and cloudy skies colored the air above them granting the surrounding a sense of melancholy and dread. Granting an illusion and making it difficult to even see the already high ceiling

They had expected to find the boss waiting for them the moment they teleported here only to find themselves alone.

Carefully everyone surveyed their surroundings, making sure that their backs were to each other as they looked for any sign of the boss.

An unholy scream ripped through the air; a sound born from the deepest and darkest pit of a nightmare. The sound of something had never once known the light of day. The party tightened their grip on their weapon, their eyes scouring the surroundings for signs of the impending boss.

Then came the rumbles.

The ground beneath them shook and trembled minutely. Every second passed the sound footstep grew louder and more pronounced. Straining his hearing, the noises were coming from the direction of an old ruined temple. It continued for several more seconds only to then stop. Complete and utter silence took over the grounds.

A silence so deep that one could hear a pin drop from hundreds of meters away.

One second there was nothing the next the building exploded into pieces. An explosion of great magnitude shook the area, sending dust, debris, and parts of the stone temple exploding outwards. Instinct took over and the party scattered to the many smaller buildings that dotted the field for cover. They hid as a shower of stone and debris rained down upon them. Smashing through the dilapidated shacks and buildings. Smoke obscured where the ruined temple once stood. From the smoke reached out a massive claw, clutching onto another old building. Slowly, the boss revealed itself from the veil of dust and pulled itself forward.

Shirou had seen his fair share of monsters and beasts in his long life. Some mythical and other abominations.

But the thing in front of him, he could confidently say he had never once in all of his life seen a creature like that, either in the past or within YGGDRASIL.

The boss's form was colossal in size, easily a few dozen stories tall dwarfing the players easily. Its lower body was extended backward, a total of six flat elephants like legs on each side of its lower body supported the monster's upper frame. The boss's torso stood upright covered in a thick carapace. It possessed only two arms with sharpened spikes running along its limb. Each of its hand wielded razor-sharp talons that could rip apart any man with ease.

It had four different heads. The first was reptilian-like, with an angled head and a long jaw mouth. The interior of its mouth was lined with small, serrated teeth. Bone-white ridges ran along the creatures entire head, almost like armor. It had muted brown scales running from its head down its neck. A slithering, long tongue whipped around the corner of its mouth. The second head resembled a centipede with its flat face and chitin exoskeleton running down its head and neck. It had an elongated skull for its head, a split jaw forming sets of mandibles, and two deadly scythes like appendages extending from its cheekbones. The third took the form of a dragon, pure red scales covering its head and neck with black neck spikes running down its neck. A horn protruded from the center of its head with sharpened teeth jutting out of its jaw. The final head was resembled a demonic goat, with an elongated snout. Resting on top of its head was a set of equally demonic curved horns. Unlike the others, this head was firmly attached to the body instead of possessing a long neck like the others. A tail whipped around, lithe and long with several spikes sharpened at the tip.

The four heads reared back before letting out a collective roar. A screech so loud and powerful that the air rippled around them, shaking the ground with the force of an earthquake.

"So you have made it, impressive. No matter, you cannot hope to defeat us as you are now! You will die here and now!" The dragon head boasted.

"Deeeaaadddd… Ddddeeeeeaaddd." The reptilian head drawled out.

"YOU ARE ALL BUT INSECTS BEFORE US! PREPARE TO BE CRUSH!" screamed the demonic goat.

"CCccCrrRRUUuSShhHH…YYYeeSSsSSS…" The centipede head hissed.

 **Yggseria: The Chimera Abomination – Lvl: 150**

Its name appeared and with it came a single health bar.

Abomination indeed, that was the only word that could even hope to describe the monstrosity that in front of them. An amalgamation of well… honestly, he had no idea what the hell it was even was. All he knew that it was big, it was scary, and no doubt powerful.

The party did not waste any time and dashed forward and out of cover. Peroroncino took to the skies and soared through the air as high as he could. Shirou and Touch Me dashed forward to meet the goliath of a boss while Blue Planet and Amanomahitotsu kept at a safe distance.

The crimson dragon head was the first to attack. Spewed forth from its mouth were great balls of fire. Instead of firing towards the vanguard as Shirou thought they would they instead targeted the backline where Blue Planet and Amanomahitotsu were stationed.

"[Trace Bullet]!" Quick to intercept the fireballs detonated against his fired Noble Phantasm. The rest hit the hulking boss with ease but did minimal damage as shown by its HP bar barely moving.

The centipede head clicked and hissed and jolted straight at him. Shirou tried firing some Noble Phantasm at the speedy head but the head continued undisturbed despite the attack. Forcing him to jump out of the way at the last second.

In the air, Peroroncino sailed through the air all the while providing air support in the form of raining down bolts of fire. They slammed onto the chimera boss but much good that did to it as just like with Shirou's [Trace Bullet] the boss took minimal amount of damage. It was more likely that his attacks were like pesky bug bites to a boss of its size and HP.

The reptilian head struck, racing towards the avian player. Peroroncino proved that he wasn't easy prey by ducking and diving to avoid its snaps.

Touch Me rushed forward during all of this, his sword in hand. Reaching striking range Touch Me readied a skill.

"[Devastating Pier—"

The chimera quickly acted, revealing its fourth and final head's attack. The demonic goat head jaws opened and unleashed a devastating sonic howl at the incoming paladin.

Touch Me raised his shield to weather the attack but it proved too much as the powerful sonic attack knocked him back and off his feet.

Deprive of the ground on his feet to keep to himself balanced he flopped in the air before clumsily recovering his landing.

Befitting its serpentine appearance and nature the reptilian head lashed out when Touch Me was at his weakest like a viper striking against an undefended prey. It was fully intending to make a snack out the player and it might have had not Shirou interfered with [Trace Bullet]. The head reared back, hissing in displeasure over Shirou's interruption.

"Appreciated EMIYA-san." Touch Me thanked.

Shirou simply nodded and the two rushed back into the fight.

The boss may have been large and very intimidating, but at the end of the day, it was just a series of codes and programs. Just like all the other bosses, big and small, it had its patterns that could be memorized and exploited. It didn't take long before Shirou recognized it. Each head has a different attack pattern to them. The goat head would only attack if the players got too close to it, releasing an earth-shattering howl to push them back. The centipede head was the one with the most reach, attacking with its mandibles and sickle blades with reckless abandonment. Its target was always the player was the one with the most Hate value. The reptilian head was the most conniving. Unlike the other heads, this one waits until the perfect time strike, lunging forward when the player is preoccupied. The dragon head was the most consistent, attacking constantly by firing blasts of dragon fire no matter the target. Not even in the backline where Blue Planet and Amanomahitotsu waited was safe.

Momonga wasn't kidding when he had said the last boss would be the toughest. Despite its rather low level of 150 when compared to other higher-level bosses like a level 200 raid boss or even an End bosses it was tough. Namely due to the several specialized defensive bonuses it received.

[Protection Against Projectiles.]: Reduces any projectile base attack damage.

[All Seeing]: The boss was capable of spotting any and players within the vicinity, bypassing any invisibility spell or stealth.

[Iron Defense]: Elemental attacks deal only half as much damage as intended.

[Breakdown]: Any physical attack launched has the chance to inflict crit damage and induce the [Confusion] status ailment.

It was a difficult situation for them. Even a fully balanced party such as Momonga's would be hard pressed against such a boss. Trying to juggle and keeping track of four independently moving heads with their own attack pattern and move sets. All the while maintaining their own party's cohesion and momentum.

Seeing that his usual methods of firing low-level Broken Noble Phantasm weren't working it was time for a new strategy. Projecting his Black Bow Shirou retreated from the frontline towards the back.

"Then let's try this on for size. Trace on!" Arcs of prana shot out of his arms to form the familiar corkscrew sword. While running he notched back Caladbolg II with his signature Black Bow.

"My core is twisted in Madness…" He hastily incanted.

"EMIYA-sempai, watch out!" Peroroncino warned as the dragon head decidedly fired out a massive fireball towards the fleeing archer.

Skidding to a stop and pivoting on the heels of his boots he swirled around with Caladbolg II notched and ready.

"[Caladbolg II]!" He fired the Noble Phantasm.

The corkscrew-shaped sword drilled through the air, a direct collision course with the dragon's fireball. It was no contest to see which of two respective attacks would prevail. Caladbolg II punctured through the fireball effortlessly.

The attack hit its mark and detonated right in the center of the chimera. The chimera staggered and wobbled from the explosive force. For just a second it looked as if it would tumble over but it regained its balance at the last second. Caladbolg II did its job, taking away a good chunk of its HP and reducing it to the yellow.

Shirou was already on the move, relocating to another spot to provide him with another opportunity to prime his more powerful Noble Phantasms.

"YOU ARE ANNNOOYYYYINNNGGG!"

"AaaAAAannnnnnNNNNoOoOOOyyYYyYYIIiiinnggGg!"

The two head screeched. The boss then moved, walking towards one of the building. The boss's slithering tail wrapped around the base of the building while it clutched onto its sides, its claws digging into the masonry. Shirou felt his feet slowing down as he could only gape as the chimera ripped the entire building loose from its foundation. It lifted it high up above its four heads and turned towards Shirou.

"Oh fuck…" He whispered and taking a step backward as he noticed all of the eyes on the beast narrowing.

It then threw the ruined building at him.

He knew he couldn't dodge it. It was far too massive and [Reinforcement] wouldn't provide him with enough strength and speed to get out of range in time. His only hope was to lessen the initial payload heading straight for him.

"[Trace Bullet: Maximum Fire]!"

His magic circuits exploded into action, his body pumping vast quantity of prana into them. Dozens of weapons were projected and fired at the thrown building. The air crackled as if filled with fireworks as his traced weapons exploded. He didn't think only acted, simply traced as many weapons as he could, cracked them and fired. Pieces were chipped and whittled away from the building, but it wasn't enough.

It was far too large, and he was out of time.

"[Reinforcement]! Trace on!"

Appearing in both of his hands were two massive tower shields. His entire body lit up from the activation of [Reinforcement], reinforcing every single part of his body to its absolute limits. Planting the shields in front of him Shirou braced himself.

A force like no other slammed into him, rattling his entire body and slamming him down. Shirou was quickly buried under several hundred tons of concrete, stone, and debris. The building shattered instantly upon impact. Reduced into a mountain of rubble and burying the magus beneath it.

"EMIYA-san!" The rest of the party cried out in unison. Stunned and shock at the sight of their friend buried and possibility dead by the boss.

Distracted by the sight of his friend being buried Touch Me was taken by surprise when two of the heads rushed towards him.

"[Vanishing Striker]!"

At the last second Touch Me used one of his skills and slashed at the reptilian head that attempted to make a meal out of him. While he was successful with repelling one head the same couldn't be said for the other one. The insectoid head impacted Touch Me like a runaway freight train, sending him on a crash course with a building.

"Touch Me-san!" Peroroncino cried out and flew forward. He wasn't able to get far as the goat head set its sight on him and released a pressurized howl at the avian player, disorienting him. The attack knocked him off course and the golden archer was forced to maneuver out of the way of the lunging reptilian head. Dipping and diving to avoid its whipping tongue and monstrous jaw.

The druid and crustacean heteromorph tried to run towards the rubble to pull their friend out only to be halted by blasts of fire courtesy of the dragon head.

"Touch Me-san! Are you alright?!" Shouted Blue Planet as the two noncombative players dodged the dragon's attack.

Slowly, Touch Me stood back up, with several scuffles and dents along his armor. His HP in the yellow. The centipede head snapped back towards the insectoid paladin and lunged. This time however he was ready.

"[Heavenly Reflection]!"

Bringing his shield to bare Touch Me tanked the charge attack. His feet digging into the ground as he was pushed backward but despite that, he held his own. His silver shield, [Earth Recover] and defensive skill activated once it tanked enough damage. Tightening his muscles, he parried the attack and backhanded the head away with his shield. [Heavenly Reflection] activated and with the burst of white energy Touch Me sent the head flying elsewhere. It continued its course, smashing into another bundle of ruin complexes. It easily shook itself loose with nary a scratch while the complex it was embedded in collapsed altogether.

Up above Peroroncino saw it all. A light bulb suddenly lit up in his head as he was struck with a crazy idea.

"Touch Me-san! Hang back, I've got an idea to free EMIYA-sempai!" Peroroncino called out.

"What?!" The paladin reasonably exclaimed.

"I need the boss's complete attention on me! Trust me!" Peroroncino urged.

"I hope you know what you're doing Peroroncino-san." Touch Me reluctantly relented racing back towards the other to recuperate.

"Let's do this!" Peroroncino glared defiantly down at the chimera boss.

"[Solar Snipe]! Plus [Maximum Quiver]!"

The archer skill [Maximum Quiver] works very similar to mages meta-magic enhancements, increasing the archer's skills and abilities. In this case, the skill allowed the player to repeatedly fire a select skill infinitely for a certain amount of time without using up any arrows.

A barrage of solar beams shot down at the chimera from up above. Peroroncino did not relent as he bombarded the boss with his attacks. When the skill ended, and the smoke cleared Peroroncino had certainly gotten its complete and undivided attention. All four heads glaring balefully at the archer.

"AaaannnNNNnnooOOOOOooYYYYyyIIiinnnngGGg!"

"Kkkiiiiiillllll! Kiiiiiilllll!"

The reptilian and insectoid heads rushed forward and in response Peroroncino dived towards them head-on. The others stared with wide eyes as they watched the avian archer nosed dive towards the two lunged heads. A veteran when it came to aerial combat and maneuvering Peroroncino evaded the two heads masterfully. Sailing down its neck the two heads were quick to follow him like white on rice. He tucked his wings inwards and made a beeline towards the goat head which unleashed another roar at the avian.

"Now!" Timing it at the last second Peroroncino spread opened his wings and executed a Barrel Roll and evaded the attack. The attack completely missing but continuing its course towards its two other heads. The howl instead slammed into the reptilian head that was chasing him. The attack was enough to stagger the head backward in pain. The same couldn't be said for the other head as the insectoid head smashed through the attack as if it was nothing. The centipede quickly slammed into the horned goat head, its sickle bone blades digging into its body.

Yggseria roared in pain and anger, its entire body recoiled and swaying from Peroroncino little trick.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" Peroroncino mocked.

"You pest!" The dragon head boomed. It opened its mouth and fired fireballs at the golden archer, all of which Peroroncino avoided with ease.

"Miss me, miss me, na-na na-na boo-boo!" Peroroncino mockingly sang.

They growled and scampered towards the golden annoyance in an attempt to smash the annoying fly. Its massive body proved cumbersome as it waddled and slowly chased after the flying player in an attempt to swat him out of the sky. The skeletal and reptilian heads renewed their efforts to catch him all the while the dragon fired blasts after blasts of fireballs. All of which failed as Peroroncino was slowly leading them on.

'Here should be close enough!' Peroroncino calculated. All he needed now was to bait them one last out.

"Come on, what's the matter? Should I slow it down for you all to give you guys a fighting chance?"

Peroroncino got a response in the form of a loud screech as the two heads lunged for him once more. Performing a textbook nose dive he forced the two to give chase. Just before he plummeted into the ground Peroroncino opened his wing and drifted into the right position before picking up speed just as he was about to crash into the ground.

He flew fast and quick, but this time low to the ground. The feathers along his chests and body practically touching the floor beneath.

His eyes were on the prize. There the mountain of rubble laid untouched. A quick glance backward showed the two heads right on his tail. And they were none the wiser.

He would need to time it perfectly!

'Come on, come on, come on, come on…' He chanted as he got closer and closer, and closer…

"Now!" Peroroncino tucked in his wings and glided to a quick stop in front of the pile of rubble. His feet touched the ground for no more than a second before he jumped and soared straight upwards. Like a matador leading on a bull, Peroroncino tricked the head into doing exactly what he wanted it to do. Unable to turn or correct its direction momentum continued its course and the heads slammed into the mountain of rubble. Knocking away massive chunks from the pile. The heads whipped around and bawled in pain, dislodging even more of the wreckage which worked out in their favor.

"EMIYA-sempai! You still there?!" Peroroncino cried out. In a momentary lapse of judgement, his entire attention was focused on the pile of rubble. In that moment of hesitation, the dragon head launched a fireball at the avian archer.

"Peroroncino-san, look out!" Blue Planet warned, too little too late as the attack caught him in his blind side.

The force of the attack knocked him out of the air as he careened downwards and crashed. More than 2/3 of his HP taken from just that. The insectoid and reptilian heads lunged forwards, ready to end the golden archer's life.

Before the heads could deal the finishing blow several streaks of blue appears and slammed into their sides, detonating.

There Shirou stood, his lower body still encumbered from the rubble, but he was free. Arching his arm backward his magic circuits triggered, sending streaks of neon lightning outwards.

"Rarrgghh!" With a roar, he willed more weapons to be traced and fired.

A storm of steel fired forth, each traced weapon exploding on contact against the boss. The explosion rattled the entire area, causing the boss to jerk back in pain. Blast burns and cuts marred the chimera entire body from the continuous barrage of fire. The boss tripped and crashed backward into another row of buildings. Falling with all the grace of an overweight elephant.

The boss's HP was lowered down to the red.

"Planet-san go help heal Peroroncino-san! Amanomahitotsu, help me pull EMIYA-san free!" Touch Me pressed.

The two rushed to do as they were ordered. Blue Planet helping and healing their aerial friend. Touch Me and Amanomahitotsu quickly got to work helping to dig out their friend. Shirou was unable to hold back the wince and hissed in pain as his friends pulled him free from the rubble. His hand clutching his sides where he felt some of his ribs were fractured.

"You alright EMIYA-san?" asked Touch Me, confused as to why Shirou was holding his sides as if he was physically in pain.

"I'll…live…" Shirou strained.

Pulling out a health potion he drank it all and applied [Alteration] to his body to help speed up the healing and stitching process. He could feel the potion and his magic circuits slowly but steady mending the wound and correcting it. Within a few seconds, he was back to full health. Blue Planet was finished with Peroroncino as well. Evident by his full health bar and himself back in the air above.

And not a second too soon as boss slowly and clumsily got back on its own feet.

The four heads glared at the players with baleful eyes. Radiating such hatred for them the group couldn't help but collectively take a step backward.

"You worthless, miscreant, insignificant insects! You have annoyed us long enough!"

"YOU WILL BURN! BURN! BURN UNTIL NOT EVEN YOUR ASHES SHALL REMAIN!"

The draconic and goat head shouted.

The dragon head opened its mouth and a magic circle formed in front of its jaw. Unlike the others, this one burned blue and a blue fireball formed. It didn't stop there as it grew, slowly but surely.

It was winding up for an attack, Shirou recognized. That meant the next attack would be an extremely powerful one and most likely an AoE attack to boot.

Not even a minute after he was free and already the situation had gone south. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Quite literally in this case.

"Peroroncino, fly towards me! The rest, get behind Touch Me!" Shirou urged.

If the attack was fire based than he had an idea on how to counter it.

"Trace on!" His circuits activated and he scoured the vast hills of Unlimited Blade Work for the right Noble Phantasm. Willing his thoughts, he found it. The prana condensed to form two circulars golden shield bearing the image of an eight-pointed star. Norse runes were traced along the out rim of the shield. It was massive, easily covering his entire body and more so.

 **[Svalinn: The Shield that stands before the Sun – Divine Tier Shield.]**

"Touch Me-san! Catch!" Arching his hand back, Shirou threw the shield like a frisbee. The shield spun gracefully through the air before Touch Me caught it.

Peroroncino grounded and immediately fell behind Shirou just as Blue Plant and Amanomahitotsu did the same for Touch Me. The two held their shield at the ready and steeled themselves.

The attack came no sooner.

 **"[Wild Fire Cataclysm]!"**

The dragon then shut its mouth, consuming the all-encompassing ball of flame. Fire leaked from its mouth, licking its fiery scales. The glow from the azure fire giving off a beautiful contrast with the draconic heads fiery red scales. The imagery didn't last as the dragon arched its head back before shooting forward and opening its mouth to release a stream of pure, concentrated blue fire.

True to its attack name the fire was indeed wild, spreading far and wide within the matter seconds. The fire spread, to vast and powerful to be contained. The surrounding was bathed in a luminescent flame of burning blue. A fire so hot and powerful it would melt even stone.

The flames licked what remained of the old and crumbling building and surrounding, their very stones liquifying and dripping like wax off of a candle. Nearly everything it touches was burned and melted away.

Well, almost everything.

Amidst the sea of blue flame shimmers of golden light reflected off of the two shields. While everything else around them was consumed by the flame, they weren't. In fact, it was doing the opposite. Within the ocean of azure inferno, a small vortex formed like a swirling whirlpool in a vast ocean, at the epicenter was Svalinn. The golden shield was actually absorbing the sea of fire.

Svalinn. Known as the shield that stood before the sun.

Svalinn, in Norse Mythology, translates to mean cold or chill. It was often referred to as a legendary shield that was able to stand before the sun itself. Able to bear the full brunt of heat and power of the radiant sun with ease. Little else was known of it save for its legend and the speculation regarding its mythos. A rather obscure myth to other, more common and mainstream legends.

The shield was yet another Noble Phantasm that was created from within YGGDRASIL. One of the few defensive styles of Noble Phantasm Shirou crafted. The shield was capable of negating practically any firebase attack, depending on its strength or tier.

While the raging inferno was halted from hurting them it wasn't completely perfect. The rest of the party were completely safe as the heat was completely virtual to them. The same couldn't be said for Shirou. The heat was almost unbearable and Shirou felt like he was being slowly cooked alive. The air around him super-heated and dry, becoming very arid. The heat and dry air grated against his skin as if it was like several thousand needles were slowly raking against his skin. It extended to inside his body as well as he felt his mouth dry up and virtual lungs gasping for air.

It felt so much like the times where he would overclock his magic circuits resulting in them burning his nerves and by extension his skin and insides as well. But he would endure!

The attack finally came to a stop, its breath attack finally letting up.

Besides themselves and the small space of ground, they stood on the rest of the surrounding was irrevocably changed.

The surrounding was charred and blackened due to the intense heat. Very little of the ruinous building remained, many of which melted, leaving only deformed molten architecture. The entire arena reduced a blackened kiln. And in the middle of the desolate and singed cavern remained the party of five.

"Impossible!"

The chimera bellowed in disbelief.

While Svalinn was capable of protecting against any firebase attack that wasn't all it could do. Shirou did not stop there and designed the shield with a neat secondary ability to the created Noble Phantasm.

"Touch Me, throw it at the boss!"

Touch Me wasn't sure why he was told to do that but the two had gone many adventures enough where he trusted Shirou's order. The paladin followed suit as he threw the shield along with Shirou.

As the two golden disks spun through the air the shield was set a flame, fire similar to the one the shield absorbed jutted outwards forming blades.

Shirou designed it where Svalinn could not only negate any firebase attack but also absorb it. Empowering itself with the attack itself. The concept of it worked very similar to how Shirou breaks his Noble Phantasm, turning them into volatile missiles. The two golden shields spun; jettison forward thanks to the blue flames. They flew like deadly saw blades spinning at extreme speeds, cutting through the air towards the boss. The flames coated the shield giving off a shining and shimmering burning blue and golden glow.

The two slashed deep within the abomination's flesh, one hitting its shoulder blades and the other its belly before exploding spectacularly. Releasing the boss's own fire against it.

The chimera let out a horrifying and piercing dying shriek as it burned. Its entire gargantuan body engulfed in flames. The wildfire spread quickly as the hungry flames consume every single inch of the boss.

The counter-attack rendering the boss's remaining HP down to zero.

Shirou had thought they had won the battle and beaten the boss. But one thing immediately clued him in onto something that was wrong. The body remained whereas many times before it they would typically shatter like glass.

Instead, it persisted.

Slowly the boss's dying screech devolved into an incomprehensible gurgle of sounds. It didn't take much before it was silenced.

The party was treated to a disturbing sight. The only way Shirou would properly describe it was that the boss…melted.

The skin was the first to give away, melting like incur and dripped downwards. Next came the muscles and organs as they melted joining the skin, revealing the bone-white skeletal frame underneath its body. Every inch of virtual flesh and innards were reduced to a tar and sludge like substance as it dripped loose onto the floor. The ooze boiled and popped from the heat, producing a foul, burning rubbery smell. Not a single trace of flesh remained, leaving only its immaculate skeletal remains.

For a few seconds, all was silent.

Shirou quickly glanced back towards his teammates and while he could not read their facial expression, he knew they were thinking the exact same thing as he was.

The fight was not over just yet.

As if called upon by their thoughts the skeletal frame of the boss rumbled.

The distinct sound of something whirling echoed through the heated and barren arena.

There, within the center of the boss's ribcage spun a glowing red orb. Faster and faster it continued to gyrate, all the while emitting a pulsating crimson glow. Red veins coursed from the core throughout its skeletal body. They etched themselves deep into the marrow as the rumbling continued.

Shirou notes that they weren't random, there was a small pattern to them. They almost looked as if they were runes or something of the likes. Shirou observation was put on hold as the boss slowly came back to life.

Suddenly one of its claws slammed onto the ground as the boss pushed itself back into a standing position. Despite possessing no muscles or tendons of any kind the entire skeletal frame was able to be held together.

Shirou couldn't help but draw a similar connection between the core and a Magic Core.

But there was another immediate concern that was at the forefront of his mind. The boss had a second stage.

Shirou was sure that Momonga and the others would have forewarned them had that been the case with their own respective bosses. But that didn't come pass.

That meant only their own bosses did not possess a secondary stage.

'Is this because we were the last ones to fight our boss?' Shirou speculated. That was the only reason he could think of. Plus, it would be in line with the shitty devs and their sadistic thinking by granting the last and most powerful boss a second life and phase.

His thoughts were put on hold as the skeletal remained of the chimera was brought fully back to life. Its once empty eye sockets flashed red and in its place were crimson orbs not unlike Momonga's serving as its eyes. The four skeletal heads reared back and released a deafening scream.

Its Health bar was replenished as well.

"Do not think we shall fall that easily intruders! We shall kill you all, in one life or another!"

"KKiiiiilllllll….KKkkkkiiiiiiiiiilllllllll…aaalllllllllll…"

"WE ARE YGGSERIA! THE ULTIMATE AND PERFECT CREATURE! YOU STAND NO CHANCE FACING US!"

"cCCHHHHaaAAnnnNNNNcCccEEEeeE….NNnNnnNNooOooOooOOOO…"

The four head spoke, their voices were disjointed and distorted.

"Scatter!" He immediately ordered upon seeing that the fight was not yet over.

"[Trace Bullet: Rapid Fire]!" Shirou launched a barrage of projected weapons as the group scattered once more. Their aim was true, and they exploded upon hitting its chest.

For a brief moment, Shirou saw something odd flicker before being obscured by the smoke of his attack detonation. The thought was immediately pushed to the background as the smoke cleared.

Only to show the boss taking no damage from his attack.

"What?!" Shirou exclaimed in disbelief.

"[Crusher Wave Slash]" Touch Me roared.

Bringing his sword downwards the paladin shot a crescent slash of pure energy towards the boss. The attack connected, staggering the boss but just like Shirou's, it did not take even a smidge of its HP. Once again Shirou caught the same flicker as before, this time he noted it flickered red as Touch Me's attack connected.

"What the hell?! Why isn't the damn thing taking any damage?!" Peroroncino cried out. He unleashed a flurry of solar arrows upon the boss. They exploded against the chimera but like the others, there was little to no sign of damage on the surface anyway.

Shirou focused all of his attention on the boss, his eye catching and scrutinizing every single detail.

This time Shirou knew what he saw. The attacks never truly connected. Every time an attack was milliseconds away from landing it would flicker and glow red before disappearing.

They needed more information.

"Everyone! Whatever you do, hold the boss off until I'm ready!" He called out to them.

"What are you planning on doing EMIYA-san?" Asked Blue Planet.

"Solving this mystery." He said nothing more much to the confusion of his friends. However, they knew to trust in Shirou and did as they were told. Keeping it distracted as he got to work.

"Trace on!" Willing his magic circuits, they flashed to life as prana poured forth. Flexing his fingers, the form of Caladbolg II took shape once again. Unlike before where he fired an incomplete copy, this time he would use its fullest extent.

"My core is twisted…" he chanted, filling the Noble Phantasm with prana and breaking it. Streaks of dark crimson prana arched through the air, pouring from his body into the Noble Phantasm "...in madness!" By the time the chimera boss even turned to face Shirou, it was too late. Caladbolg II was primed and ready.

" **[Caladbolg II]!** " He fired.

Caladbolg II was unleashed and reached terminal velocity instantly. As the corkscrew weapon was mere centimeters away from connecting it stopped.

No, it more accurate to say it was halted.

Caladbolg II continued to spin but it was unable to pierce through the odd barrier. An almost transparent red sheen covered the entire chimera.

Without any obstructions, Shirou could clearly see the rune like etching from before glowing across its body. The red glow that was acting almost like a second layer of skin.

Caladbolg II continued to spin but it ultimately failed to break through the barrier, gradually its rotation and spin slowing down and just detonated. As the smoke cleared the boss revealed itself to be perfectly fine on the surface anyhow.

A secondary health bar that slightly overlaps the original health bar showed it to be roughly ¼ depleted from the attack.

Some part of Shirou knew it wouldn't do that much damage, but he didn't think it would be _that_ weak. Unlike the incomplete version, he used earlier this one was on the same strength as the one that finished off Berserker, an End Boss. A far stronger boss than a level 150 raid boss.

The only feasible explanation that could possibly explain how Caladbolg II did so little damage was a modifier or buff of some kind that came from either a passive ability or skill of the boss.

Shirou quickly ran down what little they could glean from the boss.

Firstly, the boss could still take damage, so that immediately ruled out an invincibility ability or mechanic; much to Shirou's relief.

Secondly, any damage dealt to it was significantly weakened. That meant the boss possessed a form of a [Def] buff that reduced any incoming attack damage value by a significant amount if the damage done from a fully charge Caladbolg was anything to go by.

Thirdly, this passive ability took the barrier etched into the boss's very bone. Acting almost like a shield or defensive ability, represented by the second health bar, protecting its true health bar. And shown as a barrier protecting it from taking any real damage.

Despite producing a fair idea of what was going on, there was still a few small, but vital pieces of the puzzle that were missing. And unfortunately for Shirou and the rest he couldn't ponder on them as they fled from the boss's assault.

"EMIYA-san, what should we do?" Amanomahitotsu deferred to the leader of the party. They all saw how one of his strongest attacks did close to nothing to truly damage the boss's HP.

"There's nothing we can do but wait and test out its defenses…" Shirou reluctantly ordered. "Divert their attention and keep as far apart from one as you can! Amanomahitotsu-san stay close to me, Blue Planet-san go with Touch Me-san! Peroroncino-san, keep on firing at the boss! We need more information!"

At this point, it was clear that attacking it was close to pointless as they wouldn't be able to deal significant damage to it without wasting an expensive amount of their MP or skill use. All they could do now was survive until the boss revealed more of its tricks.

The next two minute saw the group practically running laps around the boss, desperately avoiding its attack. There was no longer a pattern to its move set or attacks, only randomness as the chimera switched target between the three groups seamlessly.

What made it all the more challenging was that nowhere was safe as the entire surrounding burned down, leaving nothing left but the open ground. Leaving the players only with the choice of running and counter-attacking whenever one of its heads lunged at them.

"Damn it…" Shirou muttered under his breath as he ducked under a fireball.

About four minutes has since passed with the reveal of the boss for its second phase and no headway was made. Shirou's and Peroroncino's prodding yielded little result. Were they perhaps missing something fundamental about the boss or perhaps it was just that long?

As he thought of this a sound pierced through his thoughts.

A high-pitched whirring sound resonated through the air. It came from the chimera. Crimson lightning began to generate and crackled from its rapid rotation. The rune-like carving running along its entire skeletal body lit up in a powerful crimson glow. All four heads unhinged their jaws as a pulsating crimson magic circle formed. Immediately several more flashed along the ground and in the air.

"Everyone, move!" Touch Me pressed.

" **[Nova Burst Quasar]**!"

The four skeletal heads let out beams of super condensed bursts of crimson energy. The beams of light traveled everywhere, across every surface. Leaving behind a glowing trail and exploding a second later. The massive AoE attack fired bathing the entire surrounding in bright red.

Countless explosion rocked the area forcing the party to scramble just to avoid the attack.

Amanomahitotsu was unlucky enough that was he was caught by one the beams.

"Agrrh!" He let out, half of his HP lost from the attack.

"Amanomahitotsu-san!" Shirou knew the crustacean heteromorph wouldn't survive the subsequent burst of energy that came after the initial beam. He used [Reinforcement] and tackled both himself and the crustacean heteromorph to the ground. Managing to dodge within a hair's breadth of the following explosion.

"T-thanks. That was a close one." Amanomahitotsu gratefully thanked his savior.

Shirou was about to respond but a noise drew their attention. A hissing noise could be heard after all the explosion died down, originating from the boss itself. The boss halted, its eyes and the glowing runes along its body slowly dimming until it was no more. Steam vented and discharged from the chimera's skeletal chest as its ribcage opened up. The orb slowed to a complete stop and at that moment opened up allowing a clear view of it. The boss also remained motionless as if it was powered down or something similar.

It was big, it was red, and it was glowing. Thus, video game logic dictated that, that it was its central and final weakness.

"Target the core!" Shirou ordered.

Peroroncino and Touch Me didn't need to be told twice before the two unleashed as much of their most powerful skills as they could. Shirou fired his traced weapons, Touch Me launching energy slashes, while Peroroncino fired bolts of solar energy.

And for each one hit, they lowered the boss's HP gradually.

Finally, they were making some damn headway!

They managed to low its HP down to roughly 60% before the ribcage closed up. The orb began to rotate once more and breathed back life to the boss. The reanimated boss stood back up, showing no sign worse for wear. The three let up their attacks as there was no point now. Also, its secondary health bar was refilled, bringing it back to full strength.

As Shirou watched this all unfolded the final piece of the puzzle came to him. Finally cluing Shirou on the exact nature of the situation.

"Everyone! We're dealing with a Timed Boss!" He shouted for all to hear.

"Shit! Of all the bosses…" Shirou heard Touch Me lamented under his breath. With good reason.

These were among the most annoying of bosses as their difficulties lie not in their inherent strength or difficulties and challenges but rather the rules and mechanics that players had to obey for the fight.

Players have dubbed them 'Stall Bosses' as they did just that; stall. Or the more commonly associated name 'Timed Bosses' which reference their timed invincibility mechanics. The concept and phrase of 'Timed Boss' were derived from games dating back to the early twenty-first century. Often time's game developers incorporate such mechanics into their bosses for one reason or another. More often than none it was to extend playtime and, in some way, to mask and create an illusion of difficulties.

It essentially boils down to the boss having only one specific weakness for which players could attack and damage the boss. However, were it only that there would be no challenge thus developers implemented another mechanic; Invincibility. For a majority of the fight, the boss was invincible or close to invincible in one form or another. After a set amount of time, the boss would reveal its weakness for one reason or another, allowing the players to progress with the fight. This opening would only be opened for a brief moment, enough time for players to progress the fight but not enough where they could it immediately.

Rinse and repeat until the fight concluded.

More often than naught it was an obstacle than it is a challenge or engaging battle.

The time wasted waiting for an opening to attack and move the fight forward merely simulate the false pretense that the battle was indeed long and arduous when in reality the fight was being extended by design. Battles and fights such as these were designed often to be time wasters.

And the longer the fight was drawn out the more likely it was that a mistake could be made and could lead to a player's death or defeat. Resulting in players trying again and again. Often time a tedious routine.

It would come to explain many of the reasoning and mystery associated with the second phase of the chimera boss battle. It's sudden and nearly impenetrable [Def] bonus mechanic acted as passive skill in the form of a barrier, reducing any and all attacks and damage taken to an absurd degree. The boss's timed mechanics forces the players to adopt one of two viable options. Either wait out the time or relentlessly attack the boss, in an attempt to break through the secondary health bar in order to reach its core and main health bar.

Both with significant cons that could lead to a party wipe if chosen carelessly.

For one, they would need to use their most powerful spells, attacks, and skills to even make a dent in the boss's secondary health bar. Meaning, they would be draining themselves far faster and could lead to a situation where they would have nothing at the crucial moment later on in the fight should the boss battle persists.

Waiting out was arguably the safest option of the two, but the five minute wait time was far too long. Shirou was barely able to save Amanomahitotsu the first time. There was no telling what might go wrong later on as Shirou speculated on the future battle. Which could take almost 15-20 minutes added on to them, and no doubt they were feeling weary themselves from the already arduous and tiring boss fight before with the chimera's first phase.

As Shirou pondered on their next move, he too scoured the depths of Unlimited Blade Works, searching for a Noble Phantasm that might provide their party with the solution they so desperately needed.

A faint idea struck him, watching as the defensive skill lit up protecting the boss.

If so, then—

 **[Message]!**

Shirou almost tripped over himself thanks to a sudden [Message] notification popping up directly in his line of sight.

It was from Momonga.

Recovery mid-step he answered the message with the intention of asking if his friend needed him only to be cut off by him instead.

"EMIYA-san! Are you there, EMIYA-san!" Momonga's erratic voice screamed through the [Message]. What gave Shirou pause was the sheer urgency and panic in his voice. Something he had only heard his undead friend speaks in only in the direst of situation.

"I'm here! What's the situation?" Shirou responded while sidestepping a lung from the fanged skeletal reptilian head.

"Bad!" Momonga simply said.

Shirou couldn't help but feel a cold pit forming in his stomach. Out of everyone within the Guild, Momonga was perhaps the most cautious and heedful player he had ever meet. If someone like him was saying things were bad, then things were not looking good.

Swallowing, he asked the question. "How bad?"

"Very, very bad…" The Overlord gravely replied. "It's…"

The distance sound of an explosion from Momonga side of the [Message] cut him off for a few seconds. He could even hear a few of his guildmates screaming and speaking in the background. This only made Shirou grow further concerned.

"Momonga-san! What's the situation?!" He asked again, as he dodged under another lunge attack.

"We've beaten our boss and then we were transported to this floor with the others. That's when everything went wrong. We're…Damn it! [Wild Storm]!" Momonga paused in the middle only to utter the name of a spell. Another series of explosions were heard through the [Message].

"We're being overrun!" He answered back, forgoing any tact.

"W-what?!" Shirou reasonably exclaimed.

The shock that they were still in combat after they have beaten their respective boss almost allowed Shirou to be nailed by an attack from the Chimera boss.

"I've been trying to coordinate the others but there's just too many. They just keep on spawning! We're surrounded by an endless horde of constantly-respawning monsters. There's no end to them!" Another pause, the faint sounds of screams and explosion echoed in the background of the [Message]. "We think it'll stop once all bosses are defeated! We need you to hurry EMIYA-san!" He pleaded, his voice completely frantic. This was the first time he ever heard Momonga sound so scared and helpless.

 _'I'll just be adding another nail in the coffin.'_ Was Shirou's grim thought. Especially for what he has to tell Momonga next.

"We're trying, but the boss got a second stage. It's a Timed Boss with some kind of super defensive skill or buff and is capable of resisting against our most powerful attacks. It also has a five-minute window!"

"Fuck!"

Shirou paused for a second, again. Only this time it was for an entirely different reason.

The voice that so eloquently summed up their situation was not Momonga.

No, it was Ulbert.

* * *

 _'Shit!'_ Momonga cursed in his head. Following Ulbert's own explosive cursing.

The remaining members of Ainz Ooal Gown, after defeating their respective boss fight were transported to an entirely different floor. A vast and grand verdant glassy plain stretched out before them, as far and beyond the horizon. Small hills and plateaus decorated the land. Granting the rather plain and empty landscape a bit of character. The scenery could be described as peaceful and tranquil. Were it not for the endless horde of undead walkers plaguing the fields.

The openness of the field granted a clear view for the seemingly insurmountable mass of Lvl 60 mobs to shamble towards them. Appearing without end from the edge of the horizon.

At this point, Momonga wouldn't be surprised if the entire floor was covered in them save for where the guild was making their last stand. The guild entrenched themselves in a circle, fighting and holding the mobs at bay all the while covering one another's back. However, they were losing more and more ground by the seconds.

He had thought that the shitty devs to be sadists but even he didn't think they would go this far and to be this harsh. Momonga wondered if whoever designed this dungeon was some perverse sadist. Because only a true deviant could think of something so cruel and wretched to design a dungeon like this for first-time clears.

Momonga knew they wouldn't last long against such numbers. Most of the parties exhausted most to all of their MP on spells and powerful skills to take down their respective bosses. Making it an even greater challenge as everyone struggled to manage their remaining skills and MP as to not completely deplete what little resources they had left. They were quite literally running on fumes at this point.

They still had plenty of health potions and MP regen potions and the like, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was the fact they were perhaps several minutes away from being flooded from head to toe in low-level mobs. And for every one they kill another five would simply take its place.

It'll eventually come to the point where they'll be out of MP, skills, and everything completely. By then they'll be completely and utterly overwhelmed by the mobs. No matter how weak or easy were they to kill notwithstanding.

It wasn't a matter if they could survive but rather for how long they could hold back the hordes.

Ohh, how he wanted to scream and curse out those shitty devs. But there were more important matters at the moment then his burning hatred for the devs.

Namely the fact that due to his slight negligence from the numerous multitasking, and stress of the situation, and the heat of the battle he had accidentally enable "party-wide" on [Message]. Meaning everyone heard Shirou's extremely alarming news.

The same very players who were now screaming, yelling, reporting and panicking.

And with his accidental actions, he sowed the seeds of pandemonium.

"A timed boss?!"

"Fucking shitty devs!"

"They're breaking through the left flank!"

"There's no way they can beat the boss in time!"

"Shit, my MP is down to 15%!"

"Damn it! Fall back, everyone fall back!"

"Momonga-san, EMIYA-san, we can't hold them back for much longer!"

"Get back! Keep pushing them back!"

"I need another health potion, now!"

"I need some help over here, damn it! Die you bastards!"

"Everyone, try and please calm down! Panicking won't do us any favors!" Shirou tried to calm down only for his word to be drown out by the others.

"There's no way we can win this, we've lost!"

"We losing too much ground!"

"I need some help over here, or else they'll break through the right side!"

"Damn it Takemikazuchi-san, don't push up too far!"

"I'm hit!"

"Push them back! We've lost too much ground already!"

"Do not falter just yet my friends!" Touch Me tried to rally.

"Touch Me-san, watch out!" Blue Planet called out, his words heard by everyone due to the party wide [Message] and the following explosion from the other side."

"What do we do Momonga-san?!"

"Don't lose focus! Stand your ground!"

"Everyone, get back!" Bukubukuchagama called out.

"Damn son of a bitch!" Peroroncino followed up.

"Excuse me?!" Said Bukubukuchagama, misinterpreting his words towards her.

"Not you sis! I meant the boss!" Peroroncino was quick to clarify and apologize.

Reports, statements, exclaims, and almost random callouts flooded the [Message] connections, coming from all over. All twenty-nine members of Ainz Ooal Gown were speaking, well it more accurate to say screaming, all at once.

[Message] works very similar to how telepathy would, in theory, their voice carried directly into the player's mind. Allow for precise and clear communication between two sources.

He could hear with perfect clarity, the exclamations, and cries of his friends echoing within his very head. Like a raging storm, tempestuous as the voiceless pleas within the shouts of his friends swirl within his mind. A wild cacophony of sound, yet he was able to distinguish and identify each member of Ainz Ooal Gown.

The raw and unfettered emotion of every one of his friends were on full display. Fear. Regret. Anger. Paranoia. Guilt. Sorrow. Shame. Helplessness.

It was suffocating!

The swirling maelstrom of negative emotion.

All around him, the sight of his guildmates and friends fighting and struggling against the impossible. Their bodies clashing against the mass of undead mobs only to be forced to push back. They were fighting a losing battle, of how they struggled furiously against the odds but ultimately inevitable and pointless.

It was all overwhelming!

"We still got a chance!" Shirou's voice cut through the sea of chatter. Silencing the storm of screams for only a second. "The boss may be a Timed Boss, but it isn't invincible! It can be still be damaged! There's still a chance."

"But it's practically invincible!" Punitive Moe cried out.

"That's right it's almost invincible but it isn't completely invulnerable! We can still hurt it, and with enough damage, we can reach its true health bar. We still have one last chance at taking it down once and for all!" Shirou countered.

Even without seeing his face Momonga could feel his friend's intense stare on him. On all of them. Just like all those times before. His unwavering spirit and will, never giving up even an inch no matter how dire or desperate the situation. That near indomitable force of will he possessed, to see things to the very end and the belief that no there was nothing that could not be overcome.

Oh, how Momonga both admires, and envy it so.

"I've got an idea; one last shot at it. And if it works we can win this!" Shirou called out to everyone.

His declaration was met with an equal amount of support as skepticism. The guild was split between believing in Shirou and calling it out as complete nonsense and bullshit.

Once more the [Message] was flooded with the heated debate of his friends.

"It's impossible!"

"Better than nothing."

"They're pushing through the middle!"

"Damn it! We don't have time for this, they're surrounding us."

"Another one of your bullshit abilities EMIYA?" Well, unless it came somehow rewrite the boss's own coding and mechanics we're shit out of luck!" Ulbert was among the vehement doubters.

"So what, you want to just quit now? Never took you for a loser that quits when the going got tough goat face." Peroroncino mocked.

"It's called being realistic bird for brains. I'm starting to think your avatar as a glorified bird man is starting to make a lot more sense now. Maybe if you stop sucking EMIYA off and stop riding his dick, you can use those two minuscule brain cells you have and recognize the situation!" Ulbert sneered.

"Fuck you, you goat head chunni! And don't you dare talk shit about EMIYA-sempai! At least he's still trying to save all of our asses. The same can't be said for you man child!" Peroroncino angrily replied back.

And so the two divulged into bickering and name-calling. While Ulbert and Peroronicno were screaming and arguing with one another; the others continued to fight back against the odds. Their own argument sparks a few to rise amongst them.

Everything was falling apart Momonga grimly realized. Their morale and unity were scattered into the wind, mere shambles of their once invincible foundation. What was once was supposed to unite the guild was now slowly tearing them apart as friends argued and bickered with one another. They wouldn't last he realized, not with the state of near complete pandemonium of the entire party was in.

As his eyes swept the sight of his friends once more, his heart ached to see them like that. What drove the knife deeper into him was that Momonga had no idea what to do. He tried speaking up, trying to restore some semblance of order of unity but he couldn't find his voice.

They were all arguing and fighting with one another, but they weren't listening.

As the world raged around him, his pillars of support and foundation were slowly crumbling all around him. In the center of it all was Momonga. All he could do was watch it all unfold, nearly powerless to stop it. And soon he too would fall into the abyss. For the _second_ time in his life, Momonga felt completely and utterly helpless.

He couldn't fail now, not when they were so close.

He could afford to fail them, not when victory was in their grasp.

He was their leader, wasn't he? The one they choose, because they believed he was the best of them. Worthy of being followed.

So then, where was it?

He needed something! Something to rally them once more. But his mind was drawing a blank as none of the three had the answer Momonga was desperately seeking.

For his Momonga persona, the cold and analytical persona would call it a lost cause. Plain and simple as there was no realistic or foreseeable way that they could escape such an impossible situation. So why bother struggling for the inevitable?

That wasn't acceptable in his mind.

For Touch Me, despite his bombastic demeanor, he was a capable and intelligent leader. He wasn't the clan leader of Nines Own Goal for the longest time for nothing. No doubt he would recognize the situation as a lost cause as well, but where his Momonga persona would simply choose to lie down, he would no doubt make an inspiring speech and make one final stand. If they were going fall, then they would do together. To not go gently into the night.

Admirable in many ways, but not the ending Momonga was seeking.

For Shirou it wasn't a matter 'if' but rather 'how'. He was an optimist but also a realist at the same time. There would perhaps be a chance at victory but it has to come at a cost. He in this situation would say that the fight would be costly but achievable depending on how long they could last and how many of their own numbers would have to sacrifice themselves so that the others may continue on. A pyrrhic victory in the very end.

The best and arguably the only real option left to Momonga. And yet, it wasn't what he was seeking.

He knew it was a selfish and almost impossible wish. Yet some part of him still wished for the impossible. For a miracle to happen. But somewhere in his heart, he knew that was impossible.

In the moment of panic, he defaulted back to his usual habit.

All that he was left with, was a singular question.

What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?! **WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!WHATDOIDO?!**

As he raged within his mind, desperately seeking for the answer he sought for the world around Momonga slowly stilled. Time grinds to a complete halt casting a still image of his friends, the army of undead, and the world around him. Slowly, everything started to bleed away, giving way to an endless blank landscape. A barren and white world that stretched endlessly in all direction.

It was only him.

Alone within the white void.

"What do I have to do?! I can't fail them, not now, not when they need me the most! Please, someone, anyone!"

He screamed and begged into the white void, his desperate plea for an answer reverberating within the empty world.

Shirou's words came back to him at that moment.

"Have faith…" the voice of Shirou echoed in his head.

Have faith he said...

A dark memory resurfaced from the recesses of his mind. A terrible memory he struggled to put behind him.

A dark whisper echoed through the empty world.

 **And when has faith done any good for us?**

He needed something. An answer, an idea, something— anything that was tangible. Like a man drowning in the ocean, he needed a lifeline. Something to hold onto, even if it was only an illusion.

"But is faith even enough? And if it's not, then how will we know!?"

It was impossible to rely solely on faith. For how many have found themselves in a situation not too similar to his own. What of the hundreds of thousands of salaryman, office workers, and those of oppressed by the Japanese corporate control conglomerate that made their lives a living hell? Were their faith and prayer for a better life ever answered?

If the answer was no, then how would it be any different for him?

"We don't." Another voice answered. This time, it wasn't Shirou's.

No. It was his own voice.

"We don't know, and perhaps we never could know. But isn't that why faith exist? It's because we don't truly know. For better or for worse. All we can do is believe." Came a voice behind him. Turning Momonga came to face to face with himself. More specifically the skeletal Overlord; Momonga faced an image of his true self, Satoru Suzuki.

His inner conscious held a saddened but understanding expression.

"In a way, we still haven't grown up from back then. We're still that small, frightened little child that was afraid of letting go." Said Satoru Suzuki

The blank background shifting, forming a still scene in front of him.

The crimson orbs within Momonga's eye sockets brightened, comparable to the surprise and widening of one's eyes.

The scene in front of him, he recognized it. For how could he not? For it was the nightmare that haunted him ever since he was a boy.

 **...No…**

The scene depicted a small living room, there a boy no older than six years old sat on the floor, his head resting on a worn-out couch. His surrounding depicted an equally worn out room, small and cramped but it was still home. The boy's attention focused solely on the book he was reading. In front of him was a small doorway that leads to an adjacent kitchen. There, the sight of a woman with her back turned to him. Had the boy paid closer attention he would have noticed the slight swaying of her body.

… **Don't…**

So immersed in the book was he that he did not notice her body swaying and eventually tipping, leading her to fall over. The plate in her hand falling to the ground with a loud crack, shattering into pieces. The sound finally snapped the boy out of his immersion, his head looking towards the source. There was clear confusion in his eyes, his eyes and mind trying to make sense of what he's seeing. Then came realization, the gravity of the situation dawning on him. Finally, the terror settled in. He jumped into action, the book was thrown away and forgotten as he rushed forward. A scream leaving his lips, though no sound was made he completely understood the boys cry.

Okaa-san. Mother.

 **...Please no...**

The boy rushed to his mother's side. Clear panic and fear etched on his adolescent face. First, he shook her gently trying to ask what was wrong. Next, he turned her body so that it was facing him. Her face was an almost unhealthy pale tone. Wrinkled and stress lines marred her features. Her once tame brunette hair was lined from greying hair. Ragged breaths escaped her lips. Her eyes were dimmed as if struggling just to properly see. Her face depicted the very definition of weary and fatigue. Tears swelled within the corners of his eyes, threatening to break free at any moment. All the while he continued to call out her name.

 **...Make it stop...**

The light in her eyes was faint but it was still there. With trembling hands, she reached out and gently cupped her son's cheek. A small smile managed to break through his scared visage seeing her finally respond. She was going to be fine, he told himself. This wasn't the first time she had collapsed. She experienced a few over the past few years but she always managed to get back up. This time it wouldn't be any different, he believed. But the look in his mother's eyes told a different story, a knowing glint. Her own eyes wet with tears as they trailed down her cheeks. She knew what was coming and that terrified her.

She was afraid, but not for her. For her son.

 **...No more…**

The boy was confused. Why was his mother crying? She going to be alright. She was going to get right back up, just like before. The boy had faith in his mother. His smile strained as he called out her name once more. Her lips parted, and she forced out two words. I'm sorry.

The boy was confused. Why was his mother saying I'm sorry for? Why was she apologizing for? If anything he should be the one apologizing. The boy spoke, assuring her that everything will be fine and dandy. This only caused her to pain visibly. Her tears flowing forth like a broken dam. This terrified the boy, a part of him realizing what was happening. His own tears falling down his cheeks.

 **...Enough...**

Unable to contain it anymore the boy cried all the while calling out for his mother. For her, she gently carcasses his cheek, an attempt to soothing his plight. Pulling the last visage of her strength she smiled, a beautiful and loving smile. Love and affection clearly shone in her eyes, ones that only a mother could possess for their own precious and beloved child. With the last of her strength, she uttered three words. Her last three words.

I love you.

 **...I don't want to see anymore...**

With those parting words, she knew no more. Her hand dropped to the floor, its strength no more. The light in her eyes dimmed and darkened until all that remained was a dead empty stare. There was nothing but complete and utter silence. The boy's mind was unable to properly recognize the reality in front of him. He gently shook her, believing maybe she was too tired and passed out but she remained unresponsive. Seconds passed before he finally accepted the truth. And when he did he cried and cried, and cried. For he realized the truth.

She was no longer of this world.

 **...I beg you, stop…**

He cried, screamed, and raged. Screaming and calling out to her. Mother, mother he chokingly repeated. His voice, garbled and heavy with raw emotions. He sobbed, begging her to wake up. Tears would not stop running his face, snot flowing freely from his running down. The combine secretion dirtying his face but the boy didn't care. He screamed for her until his throat was raw and burning and even then he didn't give up. All that mattered to him right now was trying to wake her up.

 **...I can't take it anymore, please...**

Eventually, his screaming catches the attention of the other tenants. Witnessing the sight of a small boy holding onto the deceased body of his own mother. Thus, they made a call and the next thing the boy knew strangers entered their homes, trying to separate the two.

 **...No more...NO MORE...**

The boy struggled against his captors, screaming, yelling and biting with all the strength and ferocity that his small body would allow. All the while completely ignoring and disregarding the adults trying to calm him down. His sight solely on his mother's body as a pair of workers brought in a body bag.

 **...Go away! Make it go away!...**

They managed to pin him, all the while another was working hastily trying to select the right sedative for the boy. Seeing the strangers picking up his mother's corpse and carefully putting it into the body bag. The boy felt as if the world around him was choking him. He felt so weak, so insignificant. So...afraid. Unable to do anything as they slowly zipped up the bag.

 **Please!**

The boy felt something pricked his arm, a needle with some odd green liquid inside it. Immediately, he felt lightheaded. He loses the feeling in his limbs, his eye growing suddenly heavy and tired.

 **Make it stop!**

All he could do was hazily watch as the strangers continued their work. He also couldn't understand a single word around him, their voices completely muffled and indistinguishable. They finally finished zipping up the body bag and with the help of two of them, picked it up and dragged it out of the room.

 **MAKE IT STOP!**

The boy watched it all. He understood what was happening despite the sedatives pumping through his veins. Yet, his body would not respond. He wanted to scream, to attack, to cry, to do something; anything but his body would not obey him. His mind was active, but his body was not. A prisoner within his own body.

 **MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!**

The last thing the boy saw before darkness took him was them leaving with the body of his mother. And then, no more.

"Make it stop!" His cry of utter anguish run across the empty horizon.

Gone was the dignified and powerful form of Momonga, replaced by a small, crying boy. The very same boy that watched his own mother live this world.

The child was none other than Satoru Suzuki himself.

He had finally broken free from the memory. Momonga completely broke down after reliving the darkest moment in his life, and the first ever time he truly felt completely and utterly helpless and alone. He collapsed to his knees, his arms clumsily covering his face. Tears poured without end from his eyes as the empty world was occupied by his whimper and sniffles.

"I-I'm...afraid…" Momonga whimpered. His voice reverted to that of a child as well. It sounded so frail, so frightened.

So...afraid.

When it boils down to it, Momonga was simply afraid. He was afraid of being left alone once more. The world moved on from his mother's death, but he didn't. To many, it was a regular occurrence for she was not the first causality suffered due to overworking, but for Satoru Suzuki, it was a defining moment that would shape his future. The world wasn't kind to him and granted him no reprieve to grieve for her. He was forced to move on or else. Momonga tried to move forward but, he never truly grew out of it. For he never was given the time to. The trauma bearing deep psychological scars within him.

From that day onwards Momonga—Satoru Suzuki considered himself truly alone in the world.

Through fortune or fate, he met Shirou on that fateful day. The day when he was at his lowest point. The day and anniversary of his mother's death. Where he attempted to bury the pain by distracting himself by playing YGGDRASIL only to find himself hunted and killed over and over. When he had all but given up, fate shined down upon him and granted him a miracle.

And on that Momonga meet his first and one true friend in life. And had it not been for Shirou there was no doubt in Momonga's mind that he would have given up on YGGDRASIL entirely. He wouldn't have become friends with him, meet the likes of Touch Me, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagma, Tabula, and so on. He wouldn't have learned that there were others just like him, loners and outcasts of their own. In time he recognized them as more than just friends, but his family. Something that he has yearned for, for what seems like a lifetime ago.

It was this for which his fears manifest. He was afraid that he would lose them just like how Satoru Suzuki lost his own mother. That they would leave him for one reason or another. Leave him just how his own mother left this world too soon. And it would be his fault.

A small dark part of him blames himself for the death of his mother. Yes, she died due to the strenuous and downright atrocious working condition. But, it was for him that she literally worked herself to death. She worked day in and day out, to provide for him. Because she loved him, her own child. His only true family in the entire world.

And he killed her (indirectly).

He was afraid that he would be the reason once more for the destruction of his new 'family'. That they would leave him just like she did. Only this time he truly was the one at fault.

Not again.

He couldn't afford to be alone again. Not after finally basking in the light after years of living within the darkness.

Momonga continued to sob and snivel, the sound of his whimper echoing softly within the white abyss of his mind. His small form trying to curl in of itself, as if to try and make itself as small as possible; an attempt to avoid it all.

His inner conscious looked down on crying child, not of scorn nor pity but merely a silent understanding.

"You are…afraid." The image of Satoru Suzuki finally spoke. "You say that as if it's something to be ashamed of. As if being afraid somehow makes you less than what or even who you truly are. But that's not true, it only proves that you are you." His conscious softly spoke.

Momonga showed no sign of hearing his words.

"Let me ask you this, can you honestly say that every one of them could and would leave us? Peroroncino? Bukubukuchagama, Warrior Takemikazuchi? What about Ulbert? Tabula? Hell, even Touch Me?" He listed off.

At this point, the crying has petered off, the young form of Momonga tentatively looked at his inner conscious.

Momonga didn't answer immediately, indecision clouding his thoughts for he truly did not know if they were capable of such acts. Depending on the situation and circumstances, he could see them leaving for one reason or another. But the same argument can be made for them remaining as well.

He cannot truly say either or.

"What about Shirou? Do you truly, _truly_ believe someone like him would leave out of nowhere or suddenly?" His inner conscious testingly questioned. It didn't go unnoticed by Momonga that he (they?) referred to Shirou by his first name. A name he would only use amongst the most private of conversations.

 **No.**

The answer was immediate. Even before he properly processed the question and formulate a response Momonga knew what the answer would be.

"There it is." The salaryman pointed towards the boy. "That unwavering and resolute loyalty and belief in him. That no matter the good or the bad, he would always be there for you. That is true faith."

"So tell me then…" Satoru Suzuki continued. "Why is it that you trust Shirou explicitly, yet we hesitate when it comes to the others? Despite the numerous instances and shreds of evidence that proves otherwise. We would be there for them, everyone within the guild through thick and thin. But why is it that you have no confidence they wouldn't be there for you despite doing so for years now?"

His conscious didn't even wait for a response before continuing

"It is because in truth you do not have as much faith in them as you would believe." He revealed.

"I do trust them." Momonga hotly answered back, somewhat offended that his own mind was saying otherwise.

"That's right. You trust them, but you don't have trust in them."

"Huh?" Momonga blinked at the rather paradoxical statement.

"Answer me this, why is that you trust Shirou above all else. Why him and him alone?" His inner conscious asked.

Hearing the question his mind repeated it in his head. He knew the answer, but nothing came from it, and not because of a lack of effort. It was simply because he felt an answer to such a question was unneeded.

It was a better question to ask why shouldn't he trust Shirou?

He was kindhearted, virtuous, sincere, and a paragon of good.

He saved Momonga during their first meeting when there was no reason to. He befriended a low-level nobody and continued their friendship for years to come. He was quick to help in almost any way, from protecting him whenever he was harassed, helping him on missions and quests or acquiring an item, or simply wished for someone to play with and talk to. Never once did Shirou outright deny him, or at least not one without a proper explanation. Shirou was always there for him when or if Momonga needed him.

Even during the early years of their friendship Momonga knew that his acts of kindness were genuine and true. Never once had he ever suspected or feared that he would betray him or even randomly PK him out of nowhere. Looking back on it he wondered where such a feeling of security came from as any other heteromorphic player would be skeptical of a friendly humanoid player.

Over the years he slowly opened up to him, letting Shirou in his life as much as he could without revealing sensitive and extremely personal information. And over time their friendship grew to where he was finally comfortable with sharing his real life with him. Whenever he had a problem or a hard day at work he knew he could always go to Shirou and talk it out with him; a shoulder to rest on. Shirou would always listen patiently and offer his own opinions, advice, and even helpful suggestions.

He never pushed too far and always willing to comprise for Momonga. He was a constant that Momonga always looked forward to a meeting whenever he got off work and simply wanted to relax.

Shirou was always there for him, no matter the situation or circumstances.

He was everything one could ever hope for in a friend. Kind. Gentle. Brave. Supportive. Wise. Intuitive. Powerful. Understanding. Selfless. Etcetera…

If there was one thing he could say that would perfectly describe Shirou it would be this; he was the ideal friend.

"And there lies in the problem." Said his inner conscious.

"W-what do you mean?" Momonga looked back up towards the image of Satoru Suzuki.

"We are idealizing him." The inner conscious answered. "Then again, it's not that hard to see why. Shirou is also partially at fault for that as well. Because he just makes it so effortless! He's just so…him. So, kind, caring, honest, and unrelentingly patient. Out of everyone in this entire world, we could befriend Shirou was easily the best thing to have ever happen to us. He's basically like one of Peroroncino's visual novel protagonist, an arguably perfect individual with little glaring flaws in his character." His inner conscious chuckled at the comparison.

Momonga inner conscious looked back towards him. "You still don't get do you?" He asked and subsequently sighed.

"Alright, how about this. A hypothetical situation where our worse fear comes to pass and everyone leaves Ainz Ooal Gown. Touch Me, Ulbert, Tabula, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Amanomahitotsu, Herohero, and so on. They all leave for one reason and another. Tell me, excluding Shirou's condition do you think if given the chance he would leave us as well?"

 **No**

Once again, the answer was immediate.

"Now, why is that?" Satoru Suzuki asked patiently. "Think very carefully about this…"

Momonga pondered on the question. He wasn't sure how long it was, be it a few seconds or even hours as he stood there thinking until it finally hit him.

The answer came to him because they weren't like Shirou.

"Of course, they're not like Shirou." Satoru Suzuki rolled his eyes. "They're their own person. Just as how Shirou isn't a perv like Peroroncino and how he and Touch Me are similar but still different people. They have their own quirks, their biases and so forth." He continued as Momonga stood there in silent shock.

"As I said, we trust our friends, but we don't have complete trust in them. We can trust that Peroroncino is bound to either say or do something perverted. Just as how we can trust Bukubukuchagama will be the one to either hit over the head or reprimand him. We trust Warrior Takemikazuchi to always be the first one to suggest a dangerous and risky quest simply for the fun of it. Or how we can trust Yamaiko to be the mediator whenever a situation arises. We can trust Tabula to be the one that follows caution whenever an argument arises within the guild. We trust them to act in manners that are befitting their own characters and individuality, but when it comes down to it you do not have trust in them if it ever came to a point where they could leave. Because as you said; they aren't like Shirou. Because for one reason or another we can see them leaving."

Momonga said nothing, content to stay there, reeling from the revelation.

It—He…was right.

Either consciously or subconsciously he didn't truly believe in his friends as much as they thought he did. And it was that thought that caused his heart to swell with guilt and shame.

Satoru Suzuki, a simple Japanese salaryman wasn't brave, or courageous, inspiring, or anything. No, he was insecure, weak, and diffident of a man that clings desperately to his friends. It was why he chooses to live behind the mask that was Momonga. For they were his light in a dark world.

He had grown up, but he truly never did mature. In a way, he really was just a scared little boy that was forced to grow up never did he truly learn from his mistakes and past. Like a child in an adult body and mind, that was afraid and simply sick and tired of being alone. Desperate for friends…for a family he could finally call his own.

He really was like a child. A child that wishes for everything to be perfect. A perfect world, free of flaws where his wishes would be true.

And when Shirou came along, he clung onto him. Not only him as a person, but also his character; the ideal individual that he was. Because for all his life, what Momonga desperately wanted was a friend. Someone that would be there for him and one he could connect to. Shirou was that friend and he grew to be something more. He considered Shirou a part of his family. Momonga held him on top of a pedestal. All the while subconsciously comparing the rest of the guild to Shirou

If one were to use an anecdote:

It would be as if Momonga been wandering blindly in a dark and dense forest for all his life and had by some chance or miracle stumbled across a beautiful and majestic cherry blossom tree. So, enraptured by its splendor he fails to see the flaws within it, blinded by its majesty. So too does he not notice the others within the forest, slowly wilting and wondering why they couldn't all be the same as the one he was admiring.

It wasn't right and fair, to not only his other guildmates and friends but to Shirou as well.

As the revelation stuck him, he collapsed to his knees, unable to truly respond or act. In which Momonga form shifted. No longer was he a boy; he was back to his true age and appearance. An adult with a suit and tie, his salaryman uniform.

"W-what do I do?" He asked aloud, his voice so distant and lost. Momonga truly did not know what to do.

Rather, what could he do?

No answer came to him this time, neither from his mind or inner conscious. Nothing but a deathly silence to fill the void.

Neither Momonga nor his inner conscious dared to utter anything. The silence stretched on, unknown for how long it truly lasted.

Slowly the world of white around them began to shift. Lines and shapes were slowly coming back into view. His inner conscious glanced around, a troubled look on his face.

"We're running out of time…" He murmured to himself.

Finally, it was his inner conscious that broke the damning silence.

The image of Satoru Suzuki took a heavy breath before heaving a weary sigh.

"We've all made mistakes, after all, that's all a part of being human. But, it what we do after it that truly matters. Life is far too fleeting to constantly worry about the 'what ifs.' Nothing last forever as they say…and maybe our fears are true." He admitted. His voice, soft and small.

"One day…that one day our friends…our family will leave us." The fear and resignation were palpable in his voice. And while his words were no softer than a whisper, to Momonga it was numbingly loud and clear.

"…But that day is not here." The mirage of Satoru Suzuki firmly and resolutely countered. "Not yet at least. So, stop focusing on the future and focus on the now! If they truly will leave, then treasure every single second of it! Now is not the time for regrets. So, laugh, cry, scream, rage, endure, but do not regret! Never regret the time spent with them. Treasure each and every moment with them as if they were to be our last and hold onto them for dear life!

There some things in this cruel world that we cannot ever hope to change, both the good and the bad. Sometimes, all one can really do is have faith. But you are right about one thing, we cannot rely on faith alone. If we wish for a miracle, then reach out and seize it with your own two hands! Forge your own path!"

"But how?!" Momonga cried back, his insecurities and self-doubt taking over. "I've done all that I can and think I can, but it's still not enough! Please. I need to do something! What if I fail?!"

"Then fail!" His inner conscious answered back. Momonga was taken aback by the answer.

Slowly, more and more of the surrounding took form. Returning to the landscape and battlefield of the dungeon. Everything was muted, colored white and grey; lifeless. The forms of the rest of Ainz Ooal Gown remained motionless like statues around the two.

Momonga inner conscious reached out and aggressively grabbed him by the scruff of his suit and pulled him in. There the doppelganger stared him down as Momonga felt his glare bearing down on the helpless salaryman.

"Shirou believes in us. Everyone within Ainz Ooal Gown believes that you have the making a great leader! Or have you forgotten what they said when they chose us to be the Guild Master?! And don't you dare start!" His inner conscious shouted and subsequently silenced Momonga just as he opened his mouth, no doubt to spout more self-deprecating words.

" **Before you think of giving up, remember the reason you started fighting in the first place!** " Satoru Suzuki screamed, looking at him dead in the eyes. His eyes burning with righteous indignation. Momonga felt his mind and heart still as the question washed over him. Repeating itself in his head, over and over again.

"Look at them!" He pointed to the frozen guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown all without breaking eye contact with Momonga. "Each and every one of them knows, and despite your imperfections and shortcomings they still choose you. Chose to follow you, no matter how crazy of an idea this was. Why? Because they had **faith** in you! If this is to be a failure, then bear it all! Whether it be now or another hundred others. They will always be there to pick you up. But the question you must ask is this. To whom will you fall as? Momonga the Overlord—the pretender and fraud of a craven or Satoru Suzuki—the coward and cynic behind the façade?! Just who are you?"

With his piece said the form of Satoru Suzuki let go Momonga as he collapsed, his legs numb and without strength.

Momonga did not answer. There the two remained for an indistinguishable amount of time, the inner conscious Satoru Suzuki staring down Momonga as he stared into nothing. The two remained there in abject silence. He had his head down, allowing his hair to overshadow his face and concealing his true expressions. In that time his eyes cast over the still images of his friends and guildmates.

For what was he fighting for in the first place? For them of course. It was always for them.

His friend.

His second family.

If so, then...

Where was the guild leader he promised them, the one they needed and _deserved_?

 **Worthless**

His friends were still fighting, still struggling against near impossible odds. And for what? Because of his selfish wish.

 **Pathetic**

All the while he wallowed in self-loathing and pity, like a petulant child. And potentially going insane if the fact that he was talking with himself was any indication.

 **Useless**

"I'm…afraid. I'm afraid that I am not good enough. I am afraid that I will fail them, fail them when they need me the most." Momonga finally said.

His shaking fingers digging into the soft and lifeless earth below.

 **Wretched**

"I'm afraid I will be the one responsible for them leaving. I'm afraid that I will lose them just how I lose her."

His hand slowly formed a shaking fist.

 **Miserable**

"I'm just afraid of being alone once more." Momonga admitted wholeheartedly for it was the truth.

He looked down at his shaking fist.

 **Failure**

And yet, despite it all, they were still with him.

Even when he suggested such an insane and outrageous idea for a quest. They followed, right behind him and all the way.

Why?

 **FAILURE**

 _"…Because we trust you…"_

A soft voice answered. It wasn't his, no.

It was Shirou.

The shaking and rattling of his fist grew.

… **FAILURE…FAILURE…**

 _"Anyone of us could have said no or rejected the idea, but in the end we all agreed."_

That's right…

 **He** still believed in him, they all did.

They all believed in him.

The shaking continued, rattling his entire hand and soon to be his arm.

… **FAILURE…FAILURE…FAILURE…**

 _"To follow you, our Guild Master. No matter how absurd or impossible it seemed. And that hasn't changed."_

They hadn't given up on him, not yet.

And yet, here he was practically admitting defeat already.

What kind of leader was that?

Better yet, what kind of friend was he?!

If he couldn't believe in himself to believe in them—

His entire arm trembled, his shaking practically uncontrollable and wild.

 **FAILURE—**

 _"…if you cannot believe in yourself, then believe in us who believes in you…"_

Momonga's fist lashed out, striking his own cheek with all the force his arm could muster. Pain erupted from his cheek as Momonga winced in surprise at just how powerful his punch was. Blood dripped down from his inside his mouth, plopping onto the ground and his fist.

—Then perhaps he should start believing in them, that believes in him.

 **FAIL—**

 _"…To me there's isn't a difference between Satoru Suzuki and Momonga…"_

Again, he swung his fist at the same cheek. Striking with even greater force than the previous punch. Managing to draw blood once more as it slowly flowed freely from the self-inflicted injury. If anything the pain helped to finally clear his head straight.

But Momonga paid it no mind.

 **FAI—**

 _"…You're my friend and I am yours and so are they…"_

Once more Momonga struck himself, hitting himself with an even greater amount of force than the last two punches. His cheek swelled from his attack, his fist and knuckles bloodied. Blood poured freely from his mouth.

Momonga let out wheezing, short gasps for air.

His bloodied hand trembling but he kept it fisted.

 **F—**

"Rarrghh!" With a roar he threw one last punch, all the force and strength he could muster behind this final attack. It connected with little difficulties and Momonga's head recoiled from the force of it.

Blood flowed like a geyser as Momonga settled there, kneeled on the ground with his body held up by his arms. As the blood pooled around him.

Every second a rasp pant left his throat as Momonga fought to control his breathing once more.

Finally, the damn voices stopped.

"I'm just afraid of it all." Momonga repeated. He stared down at the pool of blood, and his reflection stared right back. The face that stared back at him was not one where woman would swoon upon seeing nor was it one where others would sneer behind their backs as ugly or repulsive. The best word to describe it was that he looked average, plain. The look of a person not out of place as a background character, one of many faces in a crowd. Momonga stared into his reflection as it did the same to him. A frustrated but firmed look stared back at one another.

"However—" Punching the pool of blood, Momonga shakingly stood back up. His head downcast as his entire body trembled and looked ready to tip over any second.

"I could—would never live with myself knowing I failed them now when they need me the most. I could never face them knowing I was the first to give up! Not after everything they've done for me. Not after everything we've been through!"

He looked up, finally looking at his inner conscious right in the eyes. Momonga's pupil was dilated but one could not deny the fire in them. His inner conscious was soon join by two others. His child self stood to his inner conscious left and his Momonga persona standing to his right.

There his entire life stood right in front of him

"You asked me who am I."

Satoru Suzuki, the frightened boy; chained to his past, and unable to let go.

Momonga, the masquerade; holding the prospect of a willful future, out of reach.

Who exactly was he?

Satoru Suzuki, Momonga of Ainz Ooal Gown, they were a part of him. All their faults and flaws. And no matter how much he wishes for it to be otherwise, his past and ideals defined him. Made him who he was to this very day. But also their aspiration and dreams. To take the step forward into becoming just like one of them. Just as how Touch Me and Shirou were larger than life and inspired others to do great things. He too wishes to chase in their footsteps. For they were Momonga's heroes.

But, that did not mean he was chain to them.

He had to the choice, to be something else.

Someone else.

Someone greater.

It was as Shirou said to him.

 _"…Be your own man, Mononga…"_

"I am me!" He declared with all his strength and passion. Thrusting forward a clenched fist wind picked up and spiraled around him. It grew and expanded, the raging wind ripping through the air. The mirages of Momonga the Overlord and Satoru Suzuki the boy was scattered into the wind. Leaving only the inner conscious standing.

Finally, the wind died down, revealing Momonga in his true state. Dark robes fluttered in the wind as he stood tall and proud. His red orbs glowed with intensity, staring his inner conscious down.

"I may not know what exactly to do but do know what I **can** do. And that's to be there for them; all of them! As they were for me."

Keep on moving forward, one step at a time. Become their beacon as they had become his.

"Have faith in them as they do for me." Momonga finished.

The two said nothing for there was nothing left to say. For a moment the image of Satoru Suzuki was stoic and silent before a small approving and satisfied smile flashed towards Momonga.

The world around them shifted once more, reality finally settling back into place as color returned to the world. The copy of Satoru Suzuki flickered and too was fading away. He ignored it, content to cast one last view to the still images of his friends. A soft and content smile present as he turned his attention back to Momonga.

"Sometimes that's all that is needed. A little bit of hope." With those final words, he completely disappeared from the world as time resumed its course.

Momonga was instantly assaulted with lights and sounds as the action continued all around him. The voices of his guildmates ringing in his ears. Whereas before he would have frozen up, this time it would be different.

"EMIYA-san! How long would it take you to put the boss down?" He shouted into the connection, causing a few of the players to be momentarily taken aback by their leader's sudden exclamation.

"I need you guys to hold on. Three—no, two minutes. Just hold out for two more minutes and we'll see this through!" Shirou promised.

"Then we shall do our best on our side and hold back the invading mobs. Everyone, fight! We must give EMIYA-san's party all the time they need to defeat the boss!" Momonga ordered as he launched a spell into a cluster of enemies.

"But Momonga-san that's crazy! How the hell are we even sure it's going to work?!" Punitto Moe all but demanded.

"We don't!" Momonga answered back. This shocked the entire guild for not only how immediate his answer was, but also how certain he sounded in his uncertainty.

Momonga fired another spell, destroying a large group of the walkers but one managed to survive and dived for the undead player. As the monster lunged to attack Mononga surprised everyone when he gripped his staff with both hands and smashed its head in. The enemy was sent flying before breaking apart into polygons.

Despite it being impossible when it comes YGGDRASIL facial limitations for a moment his red orbs seemingly glowed an otherworldly intense crimson. And for no more than a split second, the horde of low-level mobs paused as if cowed by the Overlord's sheer presence before continuing with their march forward as their programs entail.

"You all said I was worthy of being the Guild master. You all saw something in me, something that made me worthy of your trust. And when I made the declaration that we would conquer this tomb as first-timers you all stood by me. I now ask you all, my friends, to show that trust once more. Trust in EMIYA-san just as I trust him! Trust in him, as how you all trust me and I trust you!" He pleaded to them all.

For the third time, they were subjected to another inspiring speech by Momonga. Where the first one was spirited and boisterous; a bold proclamation. The second was more down to earth and reassuring then it was confident. But this one was different from the others.

It was pure and simple; Momonga speaking to them directly, his treasured friends.

"Go EMIYA-san! We shall hold them off no matter the cost! So, fight and win!" Momonga rallied. "For Ainz Ooal Gown!" With a passionate battle cry, Momonga did the unthinkable and charged forwards with no fear against the sea of undead walkers. Momonga swinging his staff and batting away the undead all the while unleashing spells after spells.

"Ooorrrahhh!" Warrior Takemikazuchi let out a battle cry, cutting through a group of walkers.

"Quit your gawking!" He shouted towards his fellow guildmates. Knocking them out of their stupor. "You heard our Guild Master, we've come too far to lose now! Follow Momonga-san! So fight! Fight until your dying breath. For Ainz Ooal Gown!" He laughed jovially despite the hazardous situation they were all in. Cutting down the horde of MOBs with renewed determination.

That's right!" Another member spoke up after Warrior Takemikazuchi, it was Bukubukuchagama.

"EMIYA-san hasn't let us down before and I know he won't let us down now!" She defended her not so secret crush. Wielding two great shields in hand she rushed forward to join her friend. "Follow Momonga-san! For Ainz Ooal Gown!"

She charged forward undaunted after the two. Her rally along with the others igniting a new spark within the members, inspiring them all.

"Like hell, I'm going to give those shitty devs the satisfaction!"

"If we're gonna go down, we're going down fighting!"

"For Momonga-San!"

"For Ainz Ooal Gown!"

Like a domino effect, one by one the remaining members of Ainz Ooal Gown chorused the same battle cry and charge defiantly into battle. A new and brighter fire burning deep within them. Birthed and inspired by their own and their guild master's passionate rally and actions. A spark was lit within them and with their new-found strength and determination, they fought against the impossible odds. A relentless fervor as they strived to overcome the impossible.

* * *

On the other side of the [Message], Shirou and the rest of the party heard their friend's declaration as they made their final stand.

They were doing their part, now it was time for Shirou and them to do theirs.

"You all heard Momonga-san, we've got to beat them before it's too late. Peroroncino-san, Touch Me-san, both of you retreat as far back as you can and prepare your strongest attack! Blue Planet-san, Amanomahitotsu-san, go with them and apply as much enchantments and buffs as you physically can on them. I'll draw out the boss and when I give the signal attack it with everything you've got!" Shirou ordered in a tone that brokered no arguments.

A tone that the players were all familiar with having explored and conquered many different dungeons over the years as a team. The voice of one how who knew what to do and needed the complete trust and cooperation of everyone.

They did not exactly know what their friend was planning but they would trust him with their lives.

"What's the signal, sempai?" Peroroncino asked for clarification.

"You'll know it when you'll see it." The two simply nodded and retreated away from the boss, leaving Shirou alone with it.

While they were retreating Touch Me glanced back at their leader.

"It'll work EMIYA-san." Touch Me reassured.

"I know it will...because I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't." Shirou simply said.

Shirou took a deep breath, to calm the body and still the mind for what's to come. Momonga placed his faith in him. Shirou would make sure it would not be wasted, not now and not ever.

"[Trace Bullet: Maximum Fire]!"

He gave it no reprieve as he bombarded the boss with dozens upon dozens of projected weapons. They showed the boss like rain. Despite doing no damage to it, it would serve the purpose of stalling it as to allow the others to get into position and drawing all the Hate onto Shirou. After spending an expenditure on his MP Yggseria revealed itself with nary a scratch but he had completed his objective.

The boss glared at him; the others have seemingly forgotten for the moment.

"That's right…eyes on me." With the boss's complete attention on him, it was time for phase two.

"Trace on!"

Drawing back into his mind the land of Unlimited Blade Works appeared in all its glory. Zooming past the hills of blades Shirou scoured his mind for what the exact weapon he desired. There, he founded it resting at the top of a hill along with the likes of Gáe Bolg and Gungnir.

Shirou wrestled control as the luminous arcs of prana coalesce, narrowing and extending forming the barest resemblance of staff. With a flourish, he slammed the end onto the ground as the Noble Phantasm materialized.

The Noble Phantasm stood as tall as Shirou. The weapon was simplistic in its design, a long black metal shaft, near the end of the spear's blade, jutted out two small shafts with an ornate golden bladed head. The weapon was a spear, more specifically classified as a Pilum; a throwing spear/javelin commonly during the time of Romain warfare.

 **[Durindana Pilum: Ultimate Unbroken Spear – Divine Tier Spear]**

This Noble Phantasm was wielded by perhaps one of the greatest and powerful heroes ever known, The Hero of Troy, The Great Rival to Achilles himself. The Trojan Hero: Hector.

The spear was wielded by the trojan general, a master tactician, and warrior that matched him with those of numerous other Greek heroes in the Trojan war.

The legend surrounding Durindana sprung up as Hector was often fond of throwing it at his opponent. The spear was praised throughout the world; said spear was extolled as piercing through anything in the world. And he had known many victories through it. The spear had only known defeat once, at the hands of the shield of Ajax; Rho Aias. Which took six of its seven mighty layers to deflect the Noble Phantasm. It was said that only something as mighty as Rho Aias could ever hope to defend against the Ultimate Unbroken Spear.

Shirou had come across the Noble Phantasm by complete accident one day on a mission in Greece. Where he accidentally uncovered a small, broken portion of the weapon. But it was enough as Unlimited Blade Works cataloged the spear. Thus, Durindana Pilum found its place within the hills of swords.

The weapon shared great similarity with its namesake Durandal as both were remembered and renowned as weapons with almost no equal. Capable of breaking through any and all that stand in the Noble Phantasm's way.

Unlike its counterparts such as Gáe Bolg and the like, Durindana possessed no special ability or targeting enchantments that he could activate before using it, thus it was completely possible for Shirou to miss the initial throw. Something he could not leave up to chance.

Out of all his Noble Phantasms, Durindana was the only one that could possibly break through the boss's defenses and open the way for victory. Following its legend of being able to pierce through practically anything. Of course, there was the question whether or not Durindana could indeed penetrate through its near invincible defenses as it was part of its programed mechanics.

Unfortunately, they were out of options and time and the Noble Phantasm was their best and only chance left.

Either it would work, or it wouldn't.

"Let's put it to the test then…[Reinforcement]!"

Shirou lowered his stance, bending his knees while he leaned his body forwards. His posture was very reminiscent of an Olympic runner.

Prana coursed through the body, concentrating specifically on his legs.

The soles of boots pressed against the concrete ground. In response, the ground was slowly forming cracks under his weight.

His muscles tensed, like a loaded spring being compressed to its limits. More and more prana flooded his legs almost to the point of overloading his circuits with how much prana he was pumping into it.

The spring tightening further and further, ready to be released.

Finally, it snapped and Shirou moved.

With a single step, he exploded into action, his form blurring as he charged forward. The action itself producing a miniature shockwave as a burst of air exploded from his running start.

The large boss growled and slowly marched forward to meet the magus. However, Shirou knew his goal could not be met in a frontal assault so instead of a straight rush towards the chimera Shirou instead circled around it.

The centipede and reptilian head lashed out, but they were far too slow as Shirou circled around the boss's colossal form, ending with Shirou completely behind the boss.

Its spike tail swiped at him but Shirou dodged it easily enough and as the tail receded Shirou then jumped onto it!

He knew from the outset that a direct attack could result in failure. No, if the plan was to succeed, he couldn't risk a direct frontal assault. He needed to attack it by attacking the blind point which was its backside.

With its sheer size and body structure, it was close to impossible for it to appropriately counter-attack when he was so close it. Especially if Shirou was practically running along the boss's body. It would be unable to launch any of its howls and the various heads would find it difficult to attack at the right angles needed.

Running along the boss's lengthy hind skeletal spinal body, his goal was in sight. The spinning core rotating in the center of its chest.

Just a bit further…

However, it seems Shirou underestimated just how persistent the boss truly was. Contorting and bending at impossible angles the skeletal skulls of the reptilian and centipede lunged. The reptilian was the fastest and he responded by sliding under its head allowing the attack to fly over his head. Its entire body rocked from the attack on itself, but he managed to stay on it. The elongated skull of the centipede was quick to follow up and bolted towards the magus. It's sickle scythes gleaming with the intent to skewer him.

Instead of ducking under the swipe Shirou jumped over it, allowing it to whiff him completely. Resting on top its skull it provided Shirou with the perfect height and positioning to throw Durindana.

Just as he was about to throw it, he felt the skull beneath him lurched upwards abruptly. His eyes widened as the skull tossed him upwards into the air. As his body flew it didn't take long before he reached the apex of his launch.

And so Shirou was sent in a free fall

High above and in free fall he heard the yells of surprise from his friends.

In a moment of clarity, his Mind's Eye took over as he took in his surroundings and he gazed down on the boss. Shirou shiftily calculates the trajectory and arc of his fall and realized that he still had another shot. But it would only be for a split second where he would fall and reach the right altitude and angle where he would have a clear and open shot at its chest

His first attempt had failed, but it seems his Luck stat was feeling awfully generous and provided him with a second and final chance.

Righting himself mid-freefall Shirou had to time it correctly. As the looming presence of the chimera boss stared at him Shirou returned with a determined glare of his own.

"All or nothing!" Tightening his grip on the Noble Phantasm he reared his arm backed.

The opportunity finally presented itself.

"Let none stand in your path! Penetrate; **Durindana**!"

Kinetic force condensed at the end of the spear as Shirou reinforced his arm to the absolute limit and put all his strength behind it as he threw the spear, Durindana rocketed forward. The spear flew from his hand with an explosive force, shattering the sound barrier. The force of his throw also sent Shirou flying backward. Every passing second it continued to gain momentum, producing an after trail of pressurized circular shockwaves in its wake.

The spear cut through the air with a thunderous roar. A brilliant and luminous golden shine coated the spear, embracing it as if it were the arms of a gentle lover.

Like a majesty golden comet streaking across the sky. An enrapturing sight for all to see.

The boss hardly had time to even react let alone defend against the Noble Phantasm as it clashed against the chimera's ribcage. Just before Durindana could make contact it was stopped by the crimson barrier. The force of Durindana slamming into the massive boss sent another shockwave through the lands but both remained steadfast.

And thus, the two forces clashed. Their very existence and nature coming into conflict.

Much like Caladbolg II, Durindana was halted by the boss's defensive buff. But unlike Caladbolg it did not lose its momentum and continued trying to penetrate through.

The sight of Durindana struggling against the boss's hardened ribcage took center stage. It did not penetrate through immediately and yet the spear showed no sign of stopping or slowing down. The spear would not stop until either it was destroyed or the obstacle in front of it was.

Their struggle creating a shower of sparks and light that lite up the surrounding. Streaks of golden rays flowed forth from Durindana. While flares of crimson light emulated from the boss's defensive buff. Bathing the entire cavern battlefield in light.

They flowed in all direction and popped in the air like fireworks.

The ear-piercing sound of grinding steel reverberated throughout the battlefield.

The raging wind whirled at the epicenter. As if a miniature wind storm was taking place right where the Noble Phantasm was attempting to break through.

As he drifted into free fall time seemed to stretch around him, slowing down to a crawl. Allow Shirou to observe the events unfolding in front of him in perfect clarity. The sight of Durindana drilling into the boss drew forth a single question that echoed within his head.

"Could it even work?"

The boss's timed and near invincibility mechanics were tied directly into it, ingrained in its coding. It was quite literally an aspect of itself, its whole being. Just like how players could not exceed the one hundred level limit there were fundamental rules and laws that kept the virtual world of YGGDRASIL grounded. And just as how Shirou was considered real and alive within YGGDRASIL so too did these laws mean that he was just as vulnerable to them.

If that was the case, what chance would there be that Durindana could even for a moment think of being able to break through the timed mechanic of this boss monster?

The developers and by extension, the world of YGGDRASIL, gave this chimera boss its invincibility. Its ruling made true.

And so Yggseria was by definition near invincible, incapable of being truly damage without first bypassing its coded mechanic; the defensive buff that reduces any and all incoming damages by a substantial amount and took the form as its secondary health bar as that was the "Truth" YGGDRASIL dictates. One of the fundamental law that the virtual world enforces.

Just like how gravity dictates what must come up must come down.

So then, which was superior? Which rule would YGGDRASIL accept as the superior? The programs of the boss or Durindana's legends?

But to answer that question, another must be answered.

Who and or rather what was Shirou Emiya now?

In the beginning years of his transfer to YGGDRASIL, he pondered on his own existence.

He knew he wasn't human, not any more or at least not in the traditional sense of the definition.

He was still him, with all his thoughts, facets and all but not in the normal sense.

In a way, it was very similar to how the Throne of Heroes operated. Holding within it the collective conscious, skill, wisdom, personality, and abilities of the heroes. An archive of sorts that stores the individual within it.

The virtual world of YGGDRASIL merely provides a medium for Shirou to exist. His body was gone but his mind, his sense of self was still very much alive. It was this fact the differentiate him from everyone else.

He wasn't like everyone else. Where the other players that merely inhabit the virtual world, Shirou lives in it. To them, YGGDRASIL was nothing more than a false reality. But to Shirou, the world of YGGDRASIL was his reality.

For one reason or another, he is alive within this world.

It was why he could feel pain where other players could not. It was why certain nuisances and discrepancies existed between him and other regular players. Explaining how he was capable of feeling fatigued or even the burns from overuse of his magic circuits. Or even the fact that Shirou was capable of dismembering himself such as the time during the Berserker battle despite the fact that YGGDRASIL has no dismemberment feature whatsoever.

Because he's alive in YGGDRASIL. Bound to its world and rules. It was this fact that separated him from everyone else.

On the surface, Shirou has the skills, levels, abilities, and interaction of a regular Player but he wasn't one.

He wasn't a true player. Not like Momonga or anyone else.

Perhaps it was more accurate to compare him to a sentient NPC with all the nuisances and abilities given to any players. Shirou's existence was more intrinsically tied to YGGDRASIL then any other players.

A Fake Player.

Then what did that makes his Noble Phantasm now?

When he finally accepted his new life within the digital confines of YGGDRASIL all those years ago he questioned and pondered such an inquiry. He wondered what became about of the true state of the Noble Phantasm stored within him. Were they now fake versions of his copied weapons?

A fake-fake Noble Phantasm?

Gilgamesh had once called him a faker. Were he here right now, no doubt the King of Heroes would find some twisted amusement in his situation. And in a way, he wasn't wrong. By virtue that the weapons he fought with were not his own. Imitation of their true counterpart.

At the end of the day what he was projecting was nothing more than a copy of the original, forged within the depths of his Reality Marble with Unlimited Blade Works providing the blueprints.

They were imitations.

Replicas.

Duplicates.

Fakes…

They could never measure up to the real deal. Not now or ever.

So, what did that make them now that he was a part of YGGDRASIL? Simple lines and pieces of codes and binary numbers been given the appearance, power, and special abilities that it was based on? Their history reduced to flavor texts and backstory for the world? Nothing more than powerful weapons with unique abilities like all the rest within YGGDRASIL?

 **No.**

To think of them that way was an insult to their very core.

Perhaps in a way, it may be true that YGGDRASIL could copy them and recreate them. Their appearance, abilities, design and all.

It may be true that his weapons were nothing but mere imitations and copies.

But they were more than just powerful weapons. More than just flavor text or lines of code. More than a sword, or a spear, or shield, or a bow, or anything for that matter.

They were stories made real.

Myths given life.

Legends granted physical manifestation.

YGGDRASIL may be able to copy its physical aspects but there was one thing it could not copy; their legends.

Their history, their purposes, their stories, their myths, and their legend. Encapsulated and have transcended normal comprehension.

That was something that couldn't be simply copied.

Etched within his Reality Marble, within Unlimited Blade Works, within his very soul lies the not only mere blueprints but also their essence; their legends.

Unlimited Blade Works was more than a vault that held within it numerous powerful weapons nor was it just a manufactory capable of producing duplicates of said weapons. It was also a library, an archive. And within it hallowed halls lies the sum total of every weapon he had ever seen, recorded and categorized. Their entire legend, lore, histories, design, and compositions.

As he once said to the King of Heroes; "There are no rules that an imitation cannot surpass its original."

Real or fake.

Genuine or a copy.

It didn't matter if what he projects was a real Noble Phantasm, a fake Noble Phantasm, or even a fake-fake Noble Phantasm.

A Noble Phantasm was a Noble Phantasm.

Just as how Momonga believed in him, Shirou too believed in his Noble Phantasm. These beautiful crystallizations of myths and legends. At their very core, their legends made manifest.

And that will never, ever change.

Even within the digital confines of YGGDRASIL their legends still thrive. Just as Shirou was alive this fact was granted true to his Noble Phantasm as well. It was for this reason that his Noble Phantasm has the ability to interact with the more esoteric mechanics within the game. Capable of transcending common sense and normality that no other player other than Shirou could accomplish.

Where normally the lore and flavor text of the weapons would hold no significance or impact to any other normal player it was not the case for Shirou. To the virtual world and its inhabitants, the Noble Phantasm lore was real, thus allowing it to have a real effect and impact on the game world. It was why certain Noble Phantasms of his either gain or were altered in a way to gain a new, and obtuse abilities that interacted with the virtual world as a whole.

The massive damage reduction buff granted to the chimera boss functioned as a defensive mechanism.

A shield of sorts.

Durindana was said to being able to pierce through anything. No shield or defense of any kind could hope to withstand its might.

And so Durindana **will** pierce through everything.

Because as the saying goes:

 **LEGENDS**

A loud cracking echoed throughout the air. It would seem the stalemate has been broken finally.

Cracks spread from where Durindana pierced the transparent crimson barrier. Slow and few at first, they soon spread, stretching throughout its ribcage and body. Had the chimera have any flesh and skin left, its four faces would display an expression of utter disbelief at the sight before it. The impossible was happening before it. Its "invincibility" was being pierced. Durindana continues to puncture through its preconceived invincible armor. The beast of a boss roared in pain.

Its "Truth" was being overwhelmed by Durindana.

 **NEVER**

The streaks of golden light shined brighter than ever from Durindana as it pierced deeper into the boss, overtaking the flashes of crimsons flares of its defensive buff. The buff and boss attempted to force it back, as the membrane-like barrier flared with splashes of crimson. All trying to repel Durindana and close up the wound. But it was failing, miserably. Waves of dazzling golden light flooded the battlefield as Durindana slowly but surely breaking through. It's momentum not stopping no matter how hard the boss fought against it.

The chimera screeched, feeling itself being punctured by the Noble Phantasm. By now its entire ribcage was riddled with cracks, Durindana's golden tip penetrated deep. The beast roared in abject agony, its whole body swaying in a last minute attempt to dislodge it yet Durindana stayed its course.

 **DIE!**

Finally, Durindana had broken through with an earth-shattering boom. The entire frontal half of its chest was caved in instantly and reduced to a fine powder and dust not a moment later by Durindana. The golden spear blasted through and drilled itself through the core itself with ease, leaving a gaping hole within its center. The Noble Phantasm traveled unwaveringly, exiting via the back of its spinal ribcage. It continued unabated at it also severed its lower body and legs after destroying its vertebrae and spinal cord as well after passing through its backside. A good amount of its HP was lost in that attack alone.

Durindana had broken through the buff as if though it was a physical aspect.

The chimera let out one last shriek of pure anguish as the boss crumbled before them. The ground shook from the impact. All that was left of the boss was a mangled mess of bones with its destroyed torso opened. Leaving its final weakness unprotected.

"There!" Peroroncino and Touch Me thought in unison. That was the signal they were waiting for.

Shirou had done his part now it was time to do theirs.

Enhanced by the numerous buffs and enchantments thanks to Blue Planet and Amanomahitotsu they unleashed their attacks simultaneously.

" **[Shooting Stardust]**!" Peroroncino released his most powerful skill. Houyi's Bow, Peroroncino's personal Divine tier bow would normally fire arrows in the forms of concentrated sunlight or some variation of it. Rending standardized arrows pointless.

Unlike the many attacks before it, this skill did not burn the intensity of sun but rather sparkled and shined something much greater.

A beam of pure light and energy, radiating something grand and cosmic.

Peroroncino released and he fired the arrow of pure light with the strength and intensity of a dazzling star.

" **[World Break]**!" Holding his Divine tier sword, Heroic Triumph, Touch Me swung his sword.

And with the descent of his mighty blade, it heralded the end for all in his path

An attack bestowed upon only the truly worthy, The World Champions. A skill that was capable of shattering all barriers be they space, time, and or reality.

A slash that cut through all.

Rendering everything in its way pointless and mute and with it, their fate was sealed.

The two attacks traveled at near light speed, reaching their target instantly.

Shirou didn't even see the attacks connect before his entire world was blinded by white light. An explosion indeterminate proportion than any he had witnessed before formed and expanded. Bathing everything in white light. Shirou was still in free fall as he was engulfed by the light.

And for but a second light gave away to darkness and Shirou knew no more.

* * *

It took a moment for Momonga to realize that they safe. One moment he was surrounded by innumerable low-level mobs with his HP quite literally being at 1 Health Point and far faster than he could blink they were gone. Tentatively he looked around and indeed there was no more the auto-spawning mobs. The empty fielding holding no one but the guild members.

"Roll call!" He announced.

One by one everyone names were called out. Momonga heaved a sigh of relief hearing everyone presents and accounted for.

"Did they do it?" Tabula had asked the question they all were wondering.

As if called by his question in a flash of light the remaining five members of Ainz Ooal Gown appeared. Peroroncino, Touch Me, Amanomahitotsu, and Blue Planet tensed and looked around only to relax upon seeing familiar faces. Shirou, on the other hand, was lying down.

Momonga rushed to his side and shook him, but he remained unresponsive.

"EMIYA-san! Are you alright?! Come on, say something!" Momonga continued, trying to wake him.

"Strange…did he somehow run low on nanomachines?" Punitto Moe wondered, echoing the same thought the others were thinking.

For a majority of the players within Ainz Ooal Gown this was sudden but nothing too worrying. This was a common occurrence so there was no cause to worry or panic. The same couldn't be said for those the truth of Shirou's condition. Concern bubbled within them as this was the first time ever something of this magnitude happened to their friend.

Peroroncino quickly joined Momonga side to try and wake up their friend while the rest waited on the sideline, bracing themselves.

After what seemed like an eternity Shiruo stirred.

"Momonga-san?" He said softly as if he had just woken up. "Did…we do it?"

Momonga felt his heart nearly skip a beat hearing and seeing that Shirou was alright. With Peroroncino's help, the two heteromorph players helped their friend back up to his feet.

"Yes. You guys…did it." Momonga said softly but his voice carried through and was heard by everyone.

It took a few seconds before the news finally settled into their heads and when it did, they celebrated. Jubilation bubbled within them and they all let it out. Their cries of elation and joy carried with the wind, echoing through the field. They had done it. They had taken down one of the challenging dungeons within all of YGGDRASIL in one attempt.

Some laughed maniacally but the clear joy in their voices could be felt.

Others were whooping and hollering at the top of their lungs, screaming profanities at the shitty devs.

A couple shook hands and patted one another in the back, a job well done.

A few were high fiving and hugging one another.

Others did their own things.

Like Peroroncino raising both of his middle finger in the air and waving them around and yelling all manner of nonsense.

Amidst the guild's celebration Momonga silently watched them all. Seeing them all happy warmed his heart.

"You did it." He whispered to Shirou.

"No. We did it." Shirou softly shook his head.

Momonga smiled contently.

He was right, they had all contributed. Every single last one of them.

Today was their victory. Today was Ainz Ooal Gown's first of many victories for the coming future.

It took a few minutes before the adrenaline and excitement to die down.

"We've beaten the dungeon so where do we go from here?" Bukubukuchagama asked.

"I think that might be a good indication." Punitto Moe pointed in a direction. There in the sky was a circular beam of light shined down. A waypoint.

"At least we know where to head towards now." Commented Nishikienrai.

"We should at least heal ourselves. Just in case." Ulbert suddenly suggested.

"What? You think there might be another boss at the very end?" Luci*Fer sarcastically quipped.

"With how the dungeon went and their track record I wouldn't put it past them to try some other crazy bullshit at the end when we think we've finally won." Ulbert snorted.

A few mumbled in agreement with the goat heteromorph words. If the last hour or so had taught them anything it was that the shitty devs could be a real sadist if given the chance.

"I suppose there is only one way to find out." Touch Me prompted.

As one the guild marched forwards towards the glowing symbol. Ulbert's words did unsettle a few as the players could definitely see the shitty devs doing something like that. And so, they continued forward eager but also ready for anything.

Reaching the end, they came upon a small grassy ruin with old archways and tiled floor. There, within the center of it all was a throne carved from a single gigantic crystal. Also, sitting on it was a small but beautifully crafted gilded and silver crown.

As the entire guild approached it a massive victory screen appeared before them and read:

 **[Congratulation players!]**

 **[You have cleared The Great Tomb of Nazarick! For conquering and defeating the nigh impossible simultaneous attack dungeon on your first try with your entire party remaining a 95% increase in loot drop will be given as a reward.**

 **You have also earned the ownership rights to the Guild Homebase: Great Tomb of Nazarick and its immediate surrounding. With a total of 2950 levels granted for NPCs creation. (2400 base + 550 bonus)**

 **For completing this dungeon with a recommended level of 90+ in one attempt, you have received the World Class item: The Throne of Kings and The Crown of Worlds]**

As one the entire guild was rendered speechless. YGGDRASIL's facial limitation did nothing to hide the sheer surprise and shock that everyone felt. A few even choked on their own breath, Momonga especially, after reading the numerous ludicrous amounts of rewards they would be receiving. Namely the fact that they received not just one, but two World Class items! For a solid minute, they were rooted in place as their mind processed their winnings.

Celebration broke out again albeit this time surpassing their previous one.

"Are you serious?!"

"Two World Class items?!"

"Hahaha! Take that you shitty devs!

"First try, eat your heart out ya bastards!"

"Yahoo!"

Everyone shouted and cheered, renewed by the victory message. Laughter dancing in the air as the players laughed at it all, unable to hold back the sheer happiness and absurdity they all felt. For Momonga he wasn't too sure whether to cry or laugh at the absurdity of it all. Momonga quietly made his way to the World Class item, delicately running his skeletal along the crystal throne and crown.

The World Class items they had won together.

"Oi, what's our fearless Guild master doing here all by his lonesome?" Making their way over were Warrior Takemikazuchi, Touch Me, and Punitto Moe.

"Nothing. Still trying to wrap my head all around this. It just feels…surreal. I'm almost afraid that this is a dream and that I might wake up any second now." Momonga reflected.

"Well unless we're having the same dream, all together at once I would say this is quite real." Touch Me wittily remarked.

The players all chuckled at the World Champion's words.

"I would also like to take this time to apologize to you Momonga-san." Punitto Moe suddenly said, drawing the surprise of the others.

"Apologize? Moe-san there's nothing to—"

"Please let me finish, if not for yourself than for me." The death vine politely cut him off. With reluctance, Momonga took a step back and allowed him the continue.

"If I'm being completely honest, I never had much faith in us actually clearing this dungeon. Not after learning it was a Guild-base simultaneous attack dungeon. I dare say I half expected us to completely fail. And when we were fending off the sea of respawning mobs, I truly thought it was the end." He said, his gaze resting downwards as if he was ashamed.

"I want to apologize Momonga-san, for my rather cynical thoughts. While I was stewing in my defeatist thoughts, you still remained hopeful throughout the raid. It was thanks to you that we are here, because you never gave up. Today is your day Momonga-san." Punitto Moe bowed to Momonga.

"Moe-san." Momonga began solemnly, touched by his friends' words. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about. I understand your feeling and I will admit that this entire raid was a gamble so you should feel no shame in thinking that. You were wrong about one thing however, just like yourself I was too plagued with doubt and uncertainty." Momonga confided in.

Momonga's gaze landed on Shirou, who was being hugged to death by Peroroncino with Bukubukchagama. While the latter was trying to free herself, Shirou appeared content and just shook his head in amusement.

"But as a great friend once said to me…to believe in you all. And I-no, we were rewarded because of that. So raise your head high Moe-san for it is thanks to all of you that we are here celebrating. This victory today is as much as my victory as it is yours my friends. We won this day." Momonga rested his hands on his friends shoulder.

"I…Thank you, Momonga-san." Punitto Moe bowed, unable to truly express his words of gratitude.

"EMIYA-san was right, you have the making of a great leader Momonga-san." Touch Me remarked on the side.

"Never doubted you for a second Momonga-san!" The samurai bumped in the Overlord shoulder affectionately.

"After everything we've been through, we need to end this with one last hurrah." Warrior Takemikazuchi vocally mused.

An idea struck him, and he yelled out catching everyone's attention.

"Everyone! Gather around, let's take a picture to commemorate this!"

The others put their celebration on hold as they all gathered around the throne. Then came the question, who would sit on the throne?

"Come on Momonga-san, take a seat." Said Touch Me, patting the crystal throne.

"M-me?" The Overlord squeaked.

"Of course, who else? The shitty devs were kind of enough to provide a throne for you and a crown to boot. It's your right ole' glorious Guild Master Momonga-sama." The Nephilim teased.

"That's right Momonga-sama, take your rightful seat." Peroroncino joined in.

"Yeah, Momonga-sama what are you waiting for?" Nishikienrai added.

Others quickly joined in on the teasing, deferring to the undead player with the change of honorific. If Momonga was being honest he was humbled as he was embarrassed at their teasing.

"Guys stop." He flushed.

"Then stop being so difficult yourself. Hurry up sit your ass on the fancy chair already Momonga-sama." Ulbert grumbled but there was no heat to his words. He also had the distinct impression he was smiling at the undead player's expense.

"Fine, fine." He relented and the rest cheered on as he sat on the Throne of Heroes. Lifting up the crown an idea came to him.

"EMIYA-san, I would like you to do the honors." He said. It was only fair and right that his first friend would be the one to do it.

"I…It would be my honor, Momonga-sama." Momonga could feel the surprise turned appreciation in his words. Even the teasing undertone his friend spoke with, going along with the joke.

Gently passing the crown over to Shirou, Momonga took a knee. There the two players remained for all to witness this historic moment.

"Momonga-san," Shirou began. His voice vivid and baritone for all to hear. "Through unity, we have conquered this perilous dungeon but it was thanks to your valor for which we drew our strength. Even when all hope seems lost you did not waver in the face of near certain defeat. You imparted your trust in us as we did in you. And from it, we emerge together and victorious. Thus, it is my honor to formally anoint you as the one and true leader of Ainz Ooal Gown. To those who wish to say otherwise, speak now or forever silenced."

None dared so much as to make a sound. Their silence was the all the answer that was needed. A moment of silence passes before Shirou continued.

"We have all spoken. Then rise, Momonga leader and Guild Master of Ainz Ooal Gown!" Shirou proclaimed as laid the exquisite crown on top of Momonga's skeletal head. The item automatically resizing to fit the wearer and equipping itself automatically. A small window popping us providing him with its stats and ability. He paid no attention to it and closed it without even glancing at the window.

He would have time for it later. For now, he wanted to spend the time with his friends.

"Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama! Momonga-sama!"

Rising, the hails of his friends accompany him. Hearing their acclaims and ovation his own glee rose with them.

Momonga was fortunate that his skeletal face lacked the necessary means for proper facial animation because if it did; his entire face and neck would be burning bright red like a ripe tomato in both embarrassment and appreciation of their praise.

If they were going to defer to him like that then he might as well play along.

"My friends! Today is a glorious day! Today we, Ainz Ooal Gown have made our mark within history!" He began. "But I could not have done it without each and everyone one of your help. Yes, it was through unity that we conquered this perilous dungeon with naught but one attempt and here we all stand. Twenty-nine of us began this journey and twenty-nine stand victorious in the end! A feat none other can so proudly boost! You have all placed your trust in me and I have not and shall not disappoint you all." His voiced pitched, growing in strength.

Momonga grew more passionate as his speech continued, embolden and empowering the once timid undead.

"Be assured my comrades, this is just a single step in our journey. From his dungeon, we shall plant the seed of our accession! There will no doubt be many hardship and challenges in the future, but we shall meet them all without fail. None shall hinder us, and none shall stop us. We shall continue and etch our name in the annals of history! Until all shall know the name AINZ OOAL GOWN!" Momonga declared right then and there.

And his friends responded in kind. His words inciting within them an all-encompassing burning will and strength of character. Spurred and swayed by the passion and zeal within his voice. They declaring to him as he did for them.

"And all I have to say to you all is this." The rest quieted down as Momonga began again, everyone waiting for what other grand speech their friend would deliver.

"Thank you...my friends, thank you." Momonga confided. Gone was the grandiose voice and tone for which he used for his previous speech. Replaced with something more simpler, and human. His true voice. Expressing nothing more than his deepest gratitude to them; his family.

The others were slightly caught off guard by the sheer sincerity and warmth in his voice. Each player felt touched by his words and offered their own heartfelt congratulation all around.

Looking back at the World Class item that was the crystal throne Momonga walked up to the stone steps and took his rightful seat on it. Once again he dismissed the pop-up window as an idea struck him.

He might as well have a little fun as well.

"As for my first decree, I hereby appoint EMIYA-san as my second in command. Every good king needs a capable right-hand man. Are there any that disagree?"

Momonga quickly got his answer.

"Waahhooo! Alright, EMIYA-sempai!" Peroroncino cheered and the others quickly joined in.

"Yeah EMIYA-san, you heard Momonga-sama."

"That's right, we wouldn't want to make his majesty angry now, do we?"

Hearing the cheering and teasing prods of his friends Shirou relented and went along for the ride. Shirou chuckled under his breath.

"As you command Momonga-sama." Shirou gave a playful and exaggerated bow before walking forward and taking his place to the right of Momonga. All the while his friends continued to cheer him on.

"For my second decree, let us immortalize this moment my friends!"

With that said the guild was quick congregated and lined up along the Throne of Kings with Momonga sitting directly within the center. Each player trying to find the perfect spot to stand and pose. As they were busying themselves Momonga sent a quick [Message] to Shirou.

"Thank you, Shirou." Said Momonga. His sudden message catching the fake player off guard.

"For what?" He replied back, hints of curiosity coloring his question. Momonga using his name without any honorific catching him in the moment.

"Just…thank you." Momonga simply repeated. Complete gratitude clear in his simple words.

"…Any time." Shirou returned.

No other words were spoken for none were need. The two friends remained in comfortable silence, basking in the comradery of it all.

Finally, everyone found a spot they were most comfortable with. Touch Me stood to the left of the throne and Shirou stood on the right. Everyone crowded around the throne and steps of the raised platform. Each player struck a unique pose, an alternate way of expressing themselves due to the facial limitation in the game.

Peroroncino with his hands and wings wide open and raised as if he was king of the world.

Tabula with one of his slimy webbed hands reaching out as if to declare an ominous vow.

Ulbert holding one hand across his chest and another opening up to the sky as if he was in a Shakespearean play.

Touch Me taking on a more heroic pose, sword pointing upwards and shield at the ready and his head held high.

Bukubukuchagama holding up two gelatinous limbs, two fingers on each limb stretched to form a 'V' and giving the camera a two finger pose.

Yamaiko chose to pose with both her gauntlets raised, flexing her arms.

Warrior Takemikazuchi taking a knee with both of his hands resting on a katana that was planted right in front of him, as if to pay respect to his liege.

Amanomahitotsu held both of his pincers high and was clacked them, mimicking a crab.

Shirou was content to stand there, by his friend's side ever vigilant and watchful. His right hand resting on Momonga's shoulder.

For Momonga he simply stared forward, unflinching with his chest puffed out and his back straightened. One hand gripping his staff the one other resting on the throne armrest. Trying to emulate a regal appearance as befitting the crown resting atop his head.

A floating orb-like camera appeared and displayed a small timer. As the timer counted down Momonga quickly emoted with a simple smiling face emoticon.

A second later the camera flashed with a shutter clicking noise. A soft notification rang in his ears. Typing in his console he pulled up the picture.

There, within the taken photo was all of them. All twenty-nine members of Ainz Ooal Gown. The memory this day and moment encapsulated in the irreplaceable photograph in his hand.

And for the first time in years, Momonga felt truly content.

As he gazed longingly down onto the photo it was not only contentment and happiness that filled him but also a sense of foreboding apprehension. It was here that the words of his inner conscious repeated within his head. '...Nothing last forever...', he said and it was the truth. There perhaps will come a time for one reason or another they might leave him.

He has acknowledged them, yes, his fears and insecurity and vow that he would never let them rule him ever again, as they did before. But, never would he or could he absolved them. For they were a part of him.

Deep down, in his heart of hearts, a part of him wished that this moment would last forever.

But as the saying goes: all stories must have an ending.

* * *

 **Noble Phantasm and World Class Item Bio:**

 **[Svalinn: The Shield that stands before the Sun – Divine Tier Shield.]: Barrier Noble Phantasm. Rank: (B++).**

This Noble Phantasm had no concrete origin and is more in line with conception than an actual item. The YGGDRASIL created Noble Phantasm takes the form of a round golden shield. It is capable of negating and absorbing firebase attacks and store it within. The concept of this works very similar to turning a Noble Phantasm into a Broken Noble Phantasm, where Svalinn becomes imbued with the flames it absorbs and becomes quite unstable and volatile. Note: while Svalinn is capable to withstand most firebase attacks, certain level, and high tier spells and attacks can overwhelm it if the shield has already absorbed plenty of the fire based attack.

 **[Durindana Pilum: Ultimate Unbroken Spear – Divine Tier Spear]: Anti-Unit to Anti-Army Noble Phantasm. Rank: (A- to A).**

This Noble Phantasms belongs to the Trojan Hero: Hector. In order to use Durindana to its fullest extent, the user must first fulfill two steps. The first is to invoke the Noble Phantasm's name and the second step is to throw the spear. Only when these two steps are accomplished does it retains its all piercing ability. Due to its legend and lore, Durindana is capable of piercing through almost anything that resembles a defensive skill or barrier. Depending on the classification. Durindana cannot pierce through the likes of true invincibility, whether it is a skill, spell, Super Tier magic, or world class item. Nothing short of several barrier style Super Tier spells and a few select World Class items are capable of stopping Durindana cold in its tracks.

 **[The Throne of Kings – World Class item.]**

Cannot be moved outside of its designated dungeon: The Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Active Ability: Any player regardless of their level may sit on the Throne. The player sitting shall receive several buffs and enchantment while they remain seated. While on the throne the user has complete access to the Tomb of Nazarick, capable of viewing the various floor from where he sits, teleport any and all allies or NPCs to a designated floor at will, any skills or tier magic used will only cost half of its original cost, and should the player died on the throne they will be instantly revived back to full health and MP with a twenty-second immunity to all damage.

Note: With the usage of the revival mechanic of the Throne of Heroes; players must wait two weeks upon the previous activation before it can be used again.

 **[The Crown of Worlds – World Class item.]**

Active ability: Protects the wearer from any and all status ailments spell and effect of 10th tier or lower. If worn by a player with a magic caster or a sub category the effects extend to Super Tier Magic and even certain World Class items. Any and all spells the caster used while wearing the crown shall have their spell cost only one tier less than their original cost.

Addendum: if the wearer of The Crown of Worlds is also sitting on The Throne of Kings then all buffs and enchantments are doubled so long as the wearer remained seated on The Throne of Kings.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **1\. Perhaps one of the biggest alteration or expansion from the original would have to the characterization of Momonga. Much like with my previous chapter, I am putting a bit of emphasis on him and having him growing and changing. Culminating in what had happened in this chapter. The scene and idea went through several revisions and rewrites as I kept on getting new ideas to help flesh out his character. I wanted to show that just because Momonga acknowledges his shortcomings and inadequacies, that doesn't mean he's suddenly going to become this paragon of leadership immediately. His fear of letting go alluded to with the information that in canon his mother died at a young age and left him alone as a young boy, and the longing he felt when he was transported to the New World. Momonga still possesses them after becoming Guild Master and are a core component of his character. They are an intrinsic part of him, it's why he is who he is in the LN and anime. And always why he wonders and laments for his friends. Because at the end of the day, he truly misses them. While we never really dived too deep into it in the actual canon of the Overlord series, I wanted to try my own take on his character.**

 **\- I wanted to explore his canon source material, diving deep into his psychology. As I said, I did not want for it to be a one-note introspective. To have him going from shy and doubtful to suddenly become more self-confident and assuring in this chapter as we had last seen him tentatively taking on the role of Guild Master. This was to be the beginning of his evolution, but that change is slow and he is still capable of falling back into his usual habits and mindset if not more so with the sudden responsibility and expectation thrust upon him. Hence why some of the scenes feel rather fluctuated, going from hopeful in one to tense and rigorous in the other.**

 **\- I know I wasn't exactly being subtle with my visional metaphors in this chapters, but hey if it ain't broke don't fix it. The idea and concept of it play again into the theme of moving forward and growing up. Momonga represented by his child-self, to reflect on the message of him still a child in a way (himself growing up, but never truly maturing and growing as a better person. Still locked in his past and their consequences). A representation of his inner psyche. As he finally learns and comes to grips with his faults he takes his adult form, his true and real self. And in the end, he comes to acknowledges them, both the good and the bad and takes a step forward to become Momonga; his ideal persona and who he wishes to be as.**

 **2\. Shirou's character. Going back to point #1 I wanted to incorporate him into Momonga change. Not only his influence as a physical friend but also his inclusion in the story.**

 **\- The scene where Monomga reflects on what kind of a person Shirou was, was inspired by and acknowledging the source material of Fate. To those that may or may not know, Fate/Stay Night was originally supposed to be an eroge. Only to later be changed into a VN. I wanted to use those facets of his character and implement it into the story and Momonga characterization. That's always been the design and appeal to them, that the main characters be it Shirou or any other VN protagonist are made from the outset to be this ideal individual. Thus explaining the how's and why's they are likable and or well regarded in the world they inhabit. While not exactly flipping his characterization on his head or anything, it was more for an in-universe acknowledgment of Shirou's entire character.**

 **3\. The best and perhaps most ideal way of describing Shirou condition in YGGDRASIL would be drawing a comparison between him and Log Horizon world and "NPC" or People of the Land as they were referred to. He is essentially a part of YGGDRASIL while stilling possessing the abilities, such as menu screens, crafting, interacting with players, etc... as any normal players. He cannot log out and cannot access, say the YGGDRASIL forums or the Cash Shop as he's stuck in the virtual overworld. Also helping to explain some lingering threads and discrepancies with Shirou and his NPs. The reason Noble Phantasm's legend induced powers still work is that, much like in Log Horizon, while lore doesn't affect players, to NPCs, lore is real life. The flavor text would normally serve as a back drop for any normal games has a true effect on the world.**

 **\- After all, Durindana doesn't exactly have any special effects, but its the lore behind it allowed it to break a seemingly impossible challenge. I think we did a solid job with the explanation, but if yeah, if there is some confusion don't hesitate to make it known either through a pm or review.**

 **4\. Some of the changes here and there in the chapter ranges a bit as it does differ from the original source material. That is due mostly to help fit into my own narrative and ideas for the future of the chapter. And my own personal preference. I will admit the fact they earned two World Class items is a bit convoluted and extremely coincidental and I will admit that it was more for the sake of self-fulfillment on my end and also another story element to be explored in the future. But don't worry, they won't be a one-off introduction. Going to the World Class item, namely the Throne of Kings all we were really told about it was that it granted several boosts to the user. I decided to expand it a bit with my own preference, and yes those abilities chosen for the World Class item do have a purpose in the coming chapters. The Crown of Worlds was my own self created World Class item, that I wanted to play on with the whole "king" esthetic and theme I was going for.**

 **\- While I was a bit cautious about including so many speeches, my beta did assuage some of my concern. As Zero has pointed out, "Momonga has a penchant for the Grandoise, no matter how much he tries to deny it. Look at Pandora's Actor." And he is correct in that argument as Overlord is known for is grandiose. Heck, if you go back to either the anime or LN, you can bet that there'll be a speech sprinkled in every odd chapter or a few speeches in every episode. As he also puts it "Ironically enough Overlord is one of the very few animes where you can get away with doing multiple speeches." Hopefully, they weren't too bothersome or repetitive.**

 **And with that, that's the end of the chapter. Thank you all for reading. Please, do leave a review if you enjoyed it and if there are any mistakes, criticisms, or concerns. Any form of support is always appreciated and helps us to be motivated to keep on churning out the next chapter.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**

 **Next Chapter: The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown.**


	8. The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown Pt I

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **The original plan was to upload a singular, massive chapter that would give a small introspective and a "where are we now" kind of interlude. Helping to flesh out some of the characters, world, and story. But as I was writing them, and planning what I wanted to cover and accomplish for each important story segment and beat I realized that my original single chapter idea would not work with what I had in mind. Evident alone by this chapter and it's length.**

 **So rather than just hold off on them all until it's all completed, I decided to just upload them when I have them done. A, it cut back on the wait for the next chapter. Each one are large chapters in their own right. B, my original idea of having them all in a single chapter, I felt would have messed up with the flow and pacing of the entire thing. As all of them take place within short but indeterminate time frame of one another. As each major segment are relatively independent of one another. So the separate upload helps to build up a sense of progression, that all the events taking place are not happening back to back. Helping with the narrative flow and progression of time.**

 **Once again, there's a Author's note at the end, listing my thoughts and reasoning for the chapter.**

 **With that said, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Beta'd: Dante Evans**

 **Word Count: 17,009**

* * *

 **Interlude: The Daily Lives of Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama**

 **September 16th, 2134.**

With the coming of the twenty-second century the world, to put it bluntly, went to shit. Greed sunk its claws into mankind and they have done to the earth what they have done best. Destroy and ruin. Turning the once beautiful planet into a polluted and infested hellscape. A mere shadow of its once pristine form. This affected not only the environment and ecosystem but also those that inhabited the world for countless centuries. The very same that was the cause of earth's slow death.

Perhaps it was karma in a way, though rarely was it just and fair. For millions of innocents were made to suffer and live in a dying world, while those truly responsible remained unaffected. The common people living arduous lives under an oppressive regime, under the remorseless care of various corporate conglomerates that perpetuated this cruel system.

It was a large contrast. Those that were of the 1% living in luxury without care, contrasting with the dystopian ruined outside world. A clear divide in class if there ever was one.

Once those of influential status saw where the world was heading, they poured their resources and funds in order to stop it. More specially, to make sure they were caught up in it.

Thus, came the constructions and creations of Biodomes. A project that saw to make sure they wouldn't be affected by the rapid pollution of the world. These Biodomes acted as closed off cities and towns, a safe bubble that filtered out the near toxic air that covered the planet. Allowing the inhabitants to go about daily lives without the need for a breathing mask or safety coats. Of course, such luxuries were only bestowed upon those that could afford it. It was mainly those that were of high status that inhabits them.

Within Japan, most of the major prefectures within the county possessed a Biodome or two in each region. Each one the size of a city and filled with everything one could think of. From schools and universities to super malls and entertainment centers, along with some Biodomes being home to many of Japan's corporate headquarters.

Within the prefecture of Hiroshima, it was no different. In particular, the Biodome was home to a university known for its diverse programs and initiatives. The University of Hiroshima was a massive complex that housed many students and facility. Known as one of the best universities within all of Japan with state-of-the-art equipment and a history of illustrious graduates and children of CEOs attending its grounds.

One of its hallmarks was an extensive library with latest and innovative appliances that students have access to. One of which was the numerous study rooms that students may occupy. All of which were soundproof. They were designed to grant the occupants the maximum amount of silence and ambiance they need. But to also allow them the freedom to chat or even argue and debate with one another without fear of interrupting anyone else.

Which was the case for one room in particular. The halls were silent, but that didn't stop the curious glances from the occasional passerby through the small window. Allowing them a small glimpse into what would be.

A pair of students were engaged in what seemed to be an argument. An aggressive one as well, as the pair were going back and forth. Their expressions were resolute in whatever argument they were championing. And by the looks of things neither was giving the other an inch.

Though, perhaps heated would be a more apt word. The two individuals were going back and forth and while the true nature of their conversation was behind closed doors it was clear to anyone it was a fierce argument. One could only wonder what philosophical or controversial topic would invoke such a heated exchange between the two.

"Traps are not gay!"

…

But then again, this was Peroroncino that we're talking about here.

Were any of his friends from Ainz Ooal Gown were here right now, they would certainly be surprised to learn of his true appearance. One would think that with Peroroncino's known habit of indulging in anything lewd and perverted that he would naturally have the appearance to fit. The negative connotation was certainly there. Instead, his true appearance beguiles any true hints to his shameless perverted true self.

He stood at above average height with crispy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed casually, a simple white t-shirt and an open up button shirt over it and black pants. Some accessories included a silver necklace with what looked to be fashioned into wing hung from his neck. A few rings on his finger and some piercing along with his ears.

All of this combines to give him a roguish charm to his looks.

This was the man behind the mask; Peroroncino née **Kazuto Haruto**.

Opposite of him was actually Kazuto's girlfriend. Standing at almost his height with long, flowing shimmering chocolate hair that cascade down her back. She too was quite the looker, with lovely hazel colored eyes, sculpted cheekbones, clear skin, and ample lips. She too was dressed casually, fitting for a simple outing.

Which only made the topic of discussion between the two that more jarring. For one could hardly imagine people like them to divulged into rather perverted and nonsensical banter. Well, it would be more accurate to say she was going along with his antics and even arguing on such matters. Even calling it an argument was a bit of a stretch, and more like half coherent nonsensical arguing.

Which rather accurately describes almost any and every conversation that Kazuto involves himself in.

"Not this again…" Kazuto girlfriend, Reina, bemoaned in exasperation. "I still don't see what's wrong!"

Out of all the kinks and fetishes Kazuto indulge in, Traps were by far the more moderate from his extensive collection. Yet, they were also the most contentious of his proclivity.

Then again Reina also knew it had to do more with his pride than anything. In the time they've gone steady if there was one thing Reina knew of her boyfriend, it was that he could be surprisingly stubborn and petulant over the most nonsensical of topics. That goes double when dealing with his lewd hobbies and interests. He was willing to argue to the very death to defend them. It was equally absurd as it was mind-numbing infuriating.

"Tell me, are first impression important; yes or no?" He pointed to his girlfriend.

"Err…yes." She hesitantly admitted.

"Exactly!" He exclaimed with a glint in his eyes." The first impression is everything! No matter how much anyone wishes to deny it. All human are subjected to bias and it is our eyes for is the cause of it. When one looks at a Trap for the first time your first thoughts aren't that they are a man or that it's a crossdresser. It's how cute they look! Their meek posture, their reserved appearance. One's initial opinion and potential attraction are based solely on what they see at that moment!" Kazuto reasoned.

Hearing his argument, Reina begrudgingly conceded that point to him.

Reina herself being a clear example of Kazuto's argument. When the two decided to go steady, never in her life would she ever imagine someone as decently looking as Kazuto to be a massive pervert. As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. That fact also says more about her as she continued their relationship despite learning of his perverted side.

"Ok fine, I'll give you that." Said Reina "But…" she interjected as soon as she saw Kazuto's smug smile. Reina wasn't going to let him win that easily. "That still doesn't exactly change anything." She argued.

Responding, Kazuto simply sighed as he slouched in his chair. Placing both of his elbows on the table, he interlocked his fingers and stared at her. His lower face obscured by his hands to present a contemplative and serious expression.

Reina, on the other hand, crossed her arms and simply raised an eyebrow in confusion. He was taking this far too seriously than it realistically should be taken.

"As if it is ever that simple. Tell me dear, have you ever heard of the story of Pygmalion?" He questioned.

"No." She answered at the non sequitur question. Confused at where he was going with this.

"To make a long story short, it involved a Greek ivory sculpture. He was renowned for his talent and skill in his craft. He was also known to have an adverse to women and yet could appreciate their beauty. One day he crafts what would be his most beautiful statue, taking the form of a gorgeous woman. So, alluring was she that Pygmalion instantly fell in love with the statue. Question, did Pygmalion fall in love with his creation because it was made of stone or was it its female form that drew him attraction?"

"…Because it looked like a woman." She answered. Reina straightens up in her chair as she couldn't help but feel intrigued by where he was taking the conversation.

"Exactly." Kazuto answered back with a hint of triumph in his voice.

"…Ok…" Reina deadpanned and simply said. "But that still doesn't exactly answer the question once again."

"You still do not see it, do you?" Kazuto repeated. Shaking his head, he stood up and prowled around the table.

"The definition and connotation behind Traps are numerous but for myself, there is only one. Allow me to say that liking a Trap does not necessarily have to what they hide. But rather, what they represent! There is more to a Trap then simply what looks to be a cute girl on the surface that is in actuality a guy. It tracks all the way back to its very concepts! It is in their very name. To entrap and ensnare.

From the very outset, they were created for a reason. They are meant to be androgynous and ambiguous. Designed from the outset to be cute or beautiful to lure men with their guile. It matters not the reason for why they are dressed in such effeminate manners. Whether it be justified or not. The reason behind our attraction for Traps doesn't solely rely on the knowledge they are secretly male but rather the fact that their mannerisms, appearance, and personality are femininity personified! Similar to how many ordinary men may fall for the characteristics of a regular woman, so too can they for a Trap!

It is this dichotomy that makes Traps endearing! The illusion of what they are and the reality of who they truly are conflicting with one another. But most importantly of all, it is the knowledge and inkling that makes them so enticing. The mystery acts like a thin veil; out of sight, but not out of mind. They are like a forbidden fruit, ripe and plumb; begging to be picked. Their very existence pushes boundaries, and that is what makes them appealing. A carnal taboo one cannot help but indulge in! We know we shouldn't, and yet we cannot help ourselves but indulge in it! And that is what makes it all the sweeter. For only the most bravest and most willingly of men dare to tread such a path.

Our mind, our mind is telling us **no**! But our body…but our body is telling us **yes**!

To put it simply, we men fell in love with Traps because of their wholesome and feminine builds and appearance rather than the fact that they are a woman or not!

It isn't a matter of if liking a Trap makes one gay or that one that dresses like a Trap is gay. No, it is much more than that but at the same time, much simpler. Traps are no different from other niche kinks and fetishes. No different from the likes of maids, or flat chests, or milfs. For in the end, they are but one of many splendors that we men have discovered. A libidinous stimulation of the mind and body.

It's an acquired taste that only true intellectual and enlightened of men can appreciate. They are the symbol of glory and graciousness that only a true men of culture can acknowledge. To me, a true lover of Traps does not bother with such arbitrary and superficial matter such as gender that ignorant normies so often wish to shackle upon us. They try to shame us, but I say there is no shame in admiring such magnificence that many would cast aside based on their insular views. That is why I can proudly proclaim that I love Traps! To us, it doesn't matter their gender for they are much more.

To boil the issue down to simple base gender is an insult in simplicity! You are merely scratching the surface, but never do you take the time to look deeper!" Kazuto finished, growing breathless from his impromptu disquisition.

All the while Reina sat in stunned silence, with her mouth slightly agape at the rather ludicrous but equally passionate speech Kazuto delivered.

Reina blinked at the end of it.

His words replaying themselves in her mind, her brain picking apart each point and argument that he made and contemplated on them.

Despite his rather hedonistic views on life's pleasure, as well as a perverted streak that was over a mile long. He far from an idiot. The simple proof of that could be found in the rather concrete and philosophical argument he laid out, on the subject as bizarre as Traps of all things. The scariest part was just how logical and coherent some of his points were.

People often forget, his friends included that he was far from an idiot. He certainly has his moments, for sure. Mostly due to his act before thinking habit of doing things. But, hidden behind his goofy nature and perverseness Peroroncino née Kazuto was intelligent and erudite. It was just often overlooked and overshadowed by his usual bombasticness and fits of perversion.

In a way, it was also rather free-thinking of him to look at the matter as a whole overall than the sum of its parts.

And as much as she would like to deny it, he raised some very good points that she found agreeing with.

"Well…You've certainly outlined the how's and why's people are so enamored with Traps." Reina began. "But, there's still kind of the matter of the junk…" she mumbled quietly.

"But the dick is what makes them cuter!" Kazuto declared with no amount of shame.

 _'And…he ruined it…'_ Reina deadpanned hard at hearing his proclamation. Every ounce of dignity and respect he managed to earn from his previous argument was completely gone. It was honestly quite amazing how such dedication could be dumped down the drain so quickly. It was also truly fortunate that no one else could hear their conversation. It was bad enough as it was already.

"Last time I checked a dick can hardly be classified as feminine or cute…" Reina's face scrunched up in slight disgust and exasperation even further just thinking about it.

Not to mention she was completely confused by the sudden shift. Just a moment ago he was making a valid argument for why someone would like a Trap for less than superficial reasons. That there was more to them simply a boy in cute apparels. And now he was specifically highlighting an aspect of the male anatomy as a prominent appeal of Traps. Almost going against the entire argument he himself set up.

"A Trap cannot be classified as a true Trap, not unless the dick is proper! It is one of the core fundamentals!" He argued back.

Reina's face twisted even further as he blurted out his thoughts without fear. She nursed her head in her hands and lamented why she had to open her mouth yet again. Kazuto continued before she could get another word out.

"For one crucial aspect that separates a good Trap from every other; and that is the element of surprise! When a Trap slowly hikes up their skirts, it's a window to the other side. For there lies Pandora's box, waiting to be open. And like Pandora's box, once the truth is unleashed there is no taking it back! Traps are the penultimate pleasure! The throbbing ache within one's loins threatening their self-control. The swallowing shame and guilt from such perversion. The delectable dissonance of seeing a super effeminate character despite knowing the truth that they are a guy!" He championed. Each sentence ending with Kazuto taking on a dramatic pose and gesture, punctuating each statement of his.

"It's even better when they are incredibly cute!" He exclaimed.

A perverted but blissful expression on Kazuto's face. All the while he was wiggling all of his fingers and slight drool accumulating in his cheeks. An expression he often makes when he's indulging in his fantasies.

Reina looked at him and sighed heavily. Calmly standing up she walked over and quickly slapped him underside the head, hard. She learned to do this from Kazuto's sister and knew it was a sure-fire way to stop him before he devolved into his usual debauched diatribe. Well, any more anyways. Kazuto's head slammed into the table in front of them with a thud. Knocking him out of his daydream.

"Oww!" Kazuto winced, rubbing his nose that took the brunt of it all.

"My god, you're a shameless pervert." She sighed.

"Oi, I take offense to that! I'm no mere pervert!" He remarked as if the title was an offense to him. "I'm a true connoisseur of hentai and pornography! I don't get off to just any ordinary kinks, I get off to every one of them!" He declared with pride.

Reina cringed and groaned as if she was struck by a physical blow. She settled for hitting him upside the head one more time to ease her pain.

Reina pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed again for what felt like the hundredth time today from their conversation alone.

"I don't even know why we're having this conversation in the first place?! We both know you're quite literally a walking encyclopedia of fetishes. There's nothing wrong with admitting it! Even if it's just a little bit gay." Reina argued.

"No!" He answered back, sounding more like a petulant child that did not want to admit that he was wrong than a reasonable adult.

Despite the incongruity and lapse of his logic.

And judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn't going to give in any time soon.

"Ok, let's argue for argument sake that the mystery and eventually reveal of the Trap does not make one gay. But then that brings up the question of what happens after its revealed that they are indeed a Trap. Since the whole appeal of them lies in the intrigue of their true identity. What happens then when the truth is staring you in the face? Would it not be technically gay then if your feeling of attraction, be it sexual or platonic, remains the same after the truth is known? Going by your argument from before, falling for a Trap isn't gay but what about after the trap is sprung and you choose to remain in it?" Reina asked.

To this, Kazuto blink. Once. Then twice. And then several more times. He opened his mouth and yet no words came forth to answer his girlfriend's inquiry. Reina took a small sense of smug satisfaction in seeing the shift in emotion displayed by him. Going from confused to contemplative, to frustration, and finally realization.

"I…well…technically…" Kazuto stammered, trying to find an argument to counter with. Only for none to come to him, leaving him in silent defeat. His own arguments redirected straight back at him.

"Traps are not gay!" Without any more concrete evidence or arguments to prove otherwise, he was left repeating himself.

"Whatever helps you sleep a night." She snarked back with a smug grin.

A tick mark appeared on his head as his eyes narrowed. Like hell, he was going to give her the final laugh!

"Well if I'm gay, then you're a pedophile!" He dramatically fired back.

"The proper terminology is shotacon, not a pedophile." She coolly answered back as if she had expected him to make such a comment.

"Which let see here…" Peroroncino brought out his phone and pretended to look it up "Oh here it is, has or holds affection for young boys. Ergo, pedophile." He emphasized.

"I prefer the term adolescent." Reina countered without missing a beat.

"Call it what you want, but that still doesn't change the fact that more times than naught the boys depicted are minors."

"The age of consent in Japan is 13..." Reina added.

"Yea, and jail is just a room." He quipped in the middle of her speaking. However, she continued along as if she never heard him.

"…And while the whole affair is quite morally ambiguous, on a technical level it's not strictly illegal by any means."

Peroroncino opened his mouth yet he couldn't exactly come up with an immediate rebuttal. In the end, he decided to say one simple word.

"Pervert." He fired back.

"Oh, hi Pot, the name's Kettle. Have we met?" She returned sarcastically.

The two settled on glaring at one another. There they remained, neither one wishing to give in, for it meant submitting defeat to the other. Thirty seconds passed before something changed. At first, it was small, a small twitch of their lips, the heat in their gaze cooling and replaced with amusement, and the tingling tickles in their throat. Finally, it exploded.

Unable to hold it back anymore the couples doubled over in laughter. Hearing the others laughing heartily only made their own increase in volume and intensity. Eventually reaching the point where the eyes were leaking from it all. This continued for another minute before they got it all out of their system.

Their bodies slowly unwind as the last of their laughter died down. Laying back in their chairs, they rested their bodies on the table. Both of their hands outstretched, practically touching.

"I miss these chats." Kazuto remarked, finally able to catch his breath.

"Crazy as it is, so do I." Reina agreed.

Soon, they interlocked and there the two remained in comfortable and respectable silence. Just them, tendering holding onto their significant others.

"Though, it would be nice if next time we don't start another argument over, especially about your extensive lists of debauchery." Reina remarked.

"Need I remind you it was you that first started it, not me." Kazuto quickly replied.

"It only reminds me just how much of a perv you are." She retorted.

"You know you love me." Kazuto gave a cheeky grin.

"Now isn't that one of life's greatest mysteries?" She huffed amiably, smiling along with him.

"Though, it is a bit of your fault." She started up. "You've been busier lately. No doubt you've been playing that DMMO-RPG you've been raving on about."

"And I keep on asking you to join me! I'm sure you'll enjoy YGGDRASIL if you just give it a shot!" The blond argued.

"And I keep on telling you, it's not that simple. For one, unlike you whose majoring in design and art, I don't have the free time to put into playing a video game. And number two, my parents are total sticks in the mud. Like hell, they'll let me do it." Reina objected.

"Well, you could always try convincing them. Like it's educational or something." Kazuto weakly gave.

"The day that'll happen, is the day pigs fly." Reina let out an unladylike snort.

Reina observed as Kazuto's brows furrow as his lips puckered up, his finger gently tapping on his chin as mused on the matter. A common tick of his whenever he encountered a situation that's been giving him trouble. One of the many things quirks she learned about him over their time as boyfriend and girlfriend.

While her argument was told jokingly, she was being serious on the matter.

Reina felt truly content when she's with him, never needing or forced to hide something when together. She can freely chat, bicker, complain, yell, or even geek out with him. All without feeling judged for it, due in fact to Kazuto being very much like her as well. And dare she say it, she even enjoyed the moments and times when the two just argued nonsensically over something as superfluous as guilty pleasures.

Though hers were more selective in quality compared to the broad strokes that Kazuto tend to indulge in. Even then, they would embarrassingly bond over the wildest of topics. Often time leading to her putting up with his antics.

Ok, that was a bit of a lie as she always reprimands him when he gets into his pervy moods, but he never takes any real offense. Nor does he ever try to do the same when Reina allows some skeletons out of her closet. If anything, he always encouraged it to a certain extent. She felt liberated when with him and knowing that he would accept her and all her quirks and flaws only made him more endearing to her.

It was unfair, she reasoned, that he would give more attention to those he would never truly meet in person than his own girlfriend. Reina knew it was also the jealousy talking as well, but that fact mattered little to her.

"What's wrong with spending some more time with me? Are your friends so important, that you would neglect your own girlfriend? She teased with mock anger in her voice.

His eyes widened at the perceived hurt and anger in her voice and look.

"What?! No!" Kazuto immediately shouted, jumping to his feet with his hands on the table. The sheer alarm in his voice along with the immediate response caught her off guard. "They are very important to me, but so are you. I'm not trying to pick them over you, but it's just…" His face taking on a conflicted look.

Seeing the abrupt shift Reina quickly let up. A concerned expression taking over as Kazuto struggled to vocalize his trouble.

"I…you already know what's going on my side. My friends…the ones from YGGDRASIL. They're the best friends I can ever ask for. Not a day goes by where I do not think to myself that I was lucky enough to be blessed with such grateful friends. At the same time, I don't just see them as friends, but as something more as well. I think of them as family…my family…" Kazuto said softly.

Hearing this, Reina silently kicked her tongue. Mentally kicking herself as she remembered an important fact about her boyfriend. The bile of jealousy festering in her being replaced with shame. Reaching out, she gently took one of his hands into hers and gentle but supportive squeeze.

"Hey, hey! I was just kidding. No need to go all kicked puppy looks on me there." She joked. Her mind quickly racing to rectify the situation. "I'm not trying to make you choose—"

"It's fine, dear." He shook his head, interrupting her. "You are right. While they are extremely important to me, you are just as important. You are my girlfriend, and while I know I can't rightfully choose between you and them. I should still make time for you, so you won't feel left out." He looked to her and smile, a small but determined smile.

Reina felt her cheeks reddened. While she may have started dating him back then when he first asked her out because her friends dared her to and that he wasn't too bad looking. She was glad she stuck around, even when he had accidentally blurted out and revealed his perverted hobbies. For buried beneath those layers was a kind, and endearing person and equally as perverted and yet they don't detract from his good qualities. For it was times such as this that she remembered why she fell in love with Kazuto in the first place.

"Well…" She began, her tongue moistening her lips for what she was about to say next. "If you see them as family, then it's only fair that I get to meet them as well. I already know your sis, so I might as well get to know the whole 'family' as well. I think I might be able to convince my parents to invest in a Neural headset for YGGDRASIL."

His eyes light up, like a child on Christmas morning. Reina couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat at such bright and happy eyes. She quickly clamped down on it and instead raised a finger and pressed it against his lips. Stopping him from saying else just yet.

"I said might." She repeated. Keeping her finger firmly on his lips. "Depends on if I can convince mommy and daddy dearest to actually let me."

Despite her cautionary words Kazuto still smiled.

"Well, that won't be trouble now, will it? After all, you are my girlfriend and there's nothing you can't do when you put your mind to it!" He praised.

"Oh? Flattery is it?" Reina's lips twitched into a small, but pleased smile as she leaned in forward.

"Well, I'm only speaking the truth." Kazuto's own lips taking on a smile as he leaned in as well.

"Oh? Do tell."

The two were practically in one another's faces. Their noses practically touching. The two lovers could feel one another's breathes prickling their skins. No more words were spoken as the two leaned forward and captured the other lips. Chills ran down their spines as their bodies relaxed within the comfort and safety of one another.

And for a brief moment, all was right in the world. The brief respite wouldn't last too long, however.

A distinct ringing cut short their kiss. With a slight scowl, Reina picked up her phone to see who was it that was interrupting their precious moment together.

"Ah, shit." She cursed seeing the caller.

"Your dad?" He guessed.

"Got it in one!" She fired back. Reina looked back and tsked in annoyance. "Sorry baby, something just came up so I gotcha cut this short."

"It's fine. We'll have plenty of time to talk and hang later on. Promise." He assured with a smile, which made her smile as well.

As she finished packing up she stopped, remembering something important. Digging through her backpack, she found what it that she was looking for. Opening the envelope, she took a thin piece of paper and held it out for Kazuto.

"What's this?" He looked at it to see that it was a ticket of some kind.

"Dad rubs shoulders with some influential people. With the new theme park opening up, the owner and managers decided to hand out free first day tickets. He got me and my sister a pair of tickets." She answered.

As he looked at the ticket, he looked back up to him with a confused look. "Are you asking me to ask you on a date?"

"D-don't misunderstand! W-well, I've got an extra, and I didn't want the last ticket going to waste. That's why I'm giving it to you. Plus, none of my other friends are free so you'll have to come with me! Think of it as a payback date for all the ones we've missed. G-got it?!" She slightly stammered out. Only to then sharply turned her head and looked away.

Kazuto looked at the ticket and back at her. Suddenly, he was struck with an epiphany. The awkwardness and passive aggression in her words. The barely concealed blush on her cheeks. The fidgeting of her whole body. He knew exactly what this was. For he had seen this exact thing hundreds of times before. Something bubbled within him, traveling all the way from his stomach and lungs, and threatening to break free.

He held up his hand to his lips, trying and failing to conceal his giggles. Clear amusement shone in his eyes as he tried to control himself.

"H-hey! What are you laughing about?!" She snapped at him.

"You! That was totally a tsundere moment you just did!" Unable to hold it back he laughed wholeheartedly at it all.

"W-what?!" Her eyes widened. "N-no I'm n-not! S-shut up! This is all your fault!"

"Y-you even said the thing as well!" He managed to get out in between wheezes, once again finding her response to be a textbook tsundere response.

Her blush only grew, turning her whole face red with embarrassment. She thrust the ticket into his hand, along with a half-hearted forceful shove.

"Just take the ticket! I better see you next week or you're going to get it!" She screamed and vowed in slight embarrassment, hurrying towards the door.

"You forgot to say **baka** ~" Kazuto called out to her, enunciating the word in a smug sing-song voice.

Reina simply responded to his teasing by giving him the middle finger. Which only amused him even further as he chortled at her response. With the door closing behind her, Kazuto was left by himself. Slowly, his lips creased into a small pensive frown. Himself breathing a wry sigh as he slouched back in his chair, staring upwards to the ceiling in self-reflection.

His girlfriend's words while a bit selfless were not unfounded. To a certain extent, she had a point. Was it not proper etiquette to pay more attention to one's significant other rather than, quote on quote, strangers over the web? Yet, those strangers were not just nobodies but those who showed genuine care for him. To them, he too was but a stranger. For there, lies the true issue. To whom does his loyalty lie first and foremost?

While his lifestyle allowed for certain liberties and time to indulge in his pervy hobbies, he was far from a degenerate or a neet that his activities might allude to. Kazuto wishes that he could have all the time in the world.

But reality was seldom any closer to the truth.

After all, the world wasn't so kind as to allow someone to have their cake and eat it too.

* * *

"I'm home." He said as he entered his apartment.

As Kazuto closed the door behind him, a distinct but recognizable voice echoed through the apartment.

"Ahhh~ O-onii-chan…W-we shouldn't!" A delicate and compromising voice cried out.

Anyone else in this situation would immediately think the worst and rush to help. Kazuto, on the other hand, showed no real urgency. Though he did shudder slightly but not the reasons one would expect. It was common knowledge within their circle of friends that Bukubukuchagama was a voice actor. Only there was a small addendum that only their closest of friends are aware of. That being the fact that she was also a famous and well-received voice actress in the eroge business. Typically playing the roles of young girls in H-games.

So, it wasn't uncommon for Kazuto to stumble upon or accidentally hear some compromising lines from scripts that writers and game developers send her to voice.

The thing was, she had indirectly ruined H-games for him almost entirely when he had accidentally heard her voice as one of the main heroines in an upcoming H-game he wanted to buy. Since then, he kept a safe distance as she was extremely popular and were often hired or commission for other works within the eroge genre. Trying to ignore it wouldn't work as Kazuto would always imagine her in the place of the heroine character.

He may be a pervert, but even he has limits and boundary. Surprising as that was.

The door opened slightly, allowing Kazuto's sister to call out to him through the gap.

"Otouto? What are you going home so early?"

"Something came for Reina-chan so we decided to cut it short." He answered.

"Ok. Just don't make any loud noises. I'm in the middle of recording some important lines for the latest game and I need my concentration!"

Kazuto gave no verbal answer, instead continued walking and waved a single hand to say he understood. Continuing forward Kazuto made his way to the living room that was connected to the kitchen. As he unloaded his personal belongings, something caught his eye. There, on the dining table was a package. A rather large one at that, rectangular and flat. If he had to guess, it had the right dimensions to be a poster or framed picture of some kind.

"Hey nee-san, is the thing on the table yours?" He called out.

There was a loud fumble from her room as the door opened slightly once more.

"That's mine! Don't you dare think of touching it otouto!" She screamed all the way from her room. Her tone promising great pain should he disobey her. With her piece said she slammed the door shut.

Kazuto looked back down at the package. He was confused and curious about what exactly would elicit such a strong reaction out of her. Sure, it was understandable that she didn't want him to meddle with her stuff but even then, it was almost as if she was afraid for whatever reason.

Curious and suspicious, Kazuto slowly and deliberately opened it. Sure, he should be respectful of her wishes but at the same time, he was also her brother. It was an unspoken rule between siblings that one will always find a way to meddle in the other's business. Then again, he could always use the pretense that he was checking to make sure it was safe. As a popular erotica voice actress, she did have her fair share of fans. Including the creepy, and overly obsessive types as well.

Carefully, he opened it without making too much noise, unwrapping it with the delicacy of how one would disarm a bomb. Finally, Kazuto undid it and pulled the content of the package out. His eyes widened at what it was that was hidden in the package.

"Woah…" He whispered in awe.

It was a framed picture of Shirou. Dressed as he always is in his YGGDRASIL attire, his new look. The painting has depicted him in a battlefield of some kind. Himself standing on some ledge. His posture straight and his expression determined. As if the Shirou within the picture was staring straight at the observers themselves. In the background was a flag bearing his own signature emblem, similar to how everyone within Ainz Ooal Gown has their own marking and emblem. His signature weapons, Kanshou and Bakuya forming a circular ying-yang symbol. The rest of the painting was bathed in deep, saturated colors. As if to evoke a sense of calamity all the while Shirou remained undaunted in the face of adversary.

If Kazuto were to pick one word to describe the style, it would have to painterly. Similar to pieces and works found in galleries. The detail and artistry in how Shirou was depicted were outstanding. Every inch of the painting was detailed perfectly, namely how accurately it captured the appearance and feel of their friend. There was a brushstroke quality to it that just made image pop all the more. But, it was the coloring that truly made it feel alive. The bright, and saturated tones of primary colors for Shirou contrasting with the surrounding darker tone and shading made it truly unique. The sheer quality emanating from the painting was honestly spectacular.

So, enraptured by it that Kazuto that he didn't even notice his sister rushing towards him and stealing it out of his hand from across the table.

"W-what are you doing?!" She screamed, clutching onto it.

Kazuto blinked, shaking himself out of his stupor. Looking up, there was his sister glaring at him. Unlike Kazuto, she had pale blonde hair with a pageboy style haircut. Her eyes were a soft shade of brown. Where Kazuto could be described as decently handsome, she fell on the other spectrum and was cuter than pretty. Especially, with her petite and heartshaped face, delicate cheekbones, healthy skin, and a cluster of freckles on her cheeks. Combined with the framed glasses resting on her nose that only added to her appeal. Normally she would always possess a soft and grounded look to her that only added to her appeal. This time, however, they were twisted in anger. At him.

"Well?!" She angrily demanded.

"Easy nee-san!" He quickly raised up his hands, trying to pacify her but to no avail.

"No! I told you not to look at my things, and what do you do? You do the exact opposite of what I said!" She was angry and rightfully so.

"Ok, ok. I am sorry for going through your stuff." He admitted and apologized. "But, I don't see what's wrong. That's an amazing work of art you've got right there. I've got to know who you've commissioned for it. I wouldn't mind a few of that in my room as well!" Kazuto praised, hoping it would downplay her anger.

She opened her mouth, ready to scream at him again. Only, it didn't happen. No words of anger or anything came out. Slowly and quietly, her expression settled going from angry to just tired and weary. Looking away, she gazed down on the painting with a forlorn look on her face.

Seeing the shift in his older sister, Kazuto grew mildly concerned.

"You're going to tell him, aren't you?" She asked out loud in a quiet voice.

Kazuto blinked, the thought of that didn't occur to him until she had said it.

"Well, I mean…I'm sure EMIYA-sempai would love that. And heck, who knows. Maybe this will finally get EMIYA-sempai to take notice of you, huh sis?" Kazuto lightly teased, trying to cheer her up. Only it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"Yea, right. As if anyone can ever love a cripple." She whispered in a rueful voice. Slowly, she moved around the table. With the dining table no longer obscuring her lower body, the truth was finally revealed.

Bukubukuchagama née **Chihiro Haruto** was in a wheelchair. For she was paralyzed from the waist down.

"Sis…" He called to her, but she showed no sign of hearing him.

Her head downcast as she looked down the beautiful painting. Her face twisted in a myriad of emotions. Hints of frustration, anger, and shame were all there. But it was one emotion that was most recognizable of all of them. A sense of longing.

Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama were born Kazuto and Chihiro Haruto respectively. The Haruto family were an influential within Japan, as they were among the few that had a part in running one of several massive corporate conglomerates that rule Japan. To put it simply, they were born into prosperous and wealth of the 1%. From the outset, it would seem that the two had their lives ahead of them.

How naïve that thinking was.

For the troubles started at the very beginning of it all. Beginning with Chihiro herself. For her troubles started the minute she was brought into this world. Due to some complications from her mother's pregnancy, Chihiro was born paraplegic. From the very first moment she drew her first breath, her future was taken from her. Born and viewed by not only society but also her parents, her own flesh and blood, as cripple they had all but given up on her. Opting instead, to try again and have another child. And in a year and a half, Chihiro became an older sister to newly born Kazuto.

From the very beginning, their lives were much different than many others.

To some or many, having a child was a privilege. Something to cherish and nurture. Kazuto and Chihiro parents' saw it different. They were merely a formality. A checkbox in their marriage contract, to look at it one way. Have a child and groom them into the next heir. That was all that Kazuto and Chihiro were to their mother and father. Where Chihiro failed this, she was subsequently ignored and passed over in favor of their "true" heir. All for no reason because Kazuto did not possess any complications as she.

All their needs and wants were attended to, privileges due to their high standing. However, that meant little to the siblings. For all of it was naught but hollow.

A life of luxury and wealth aren't as glamorous as everybody makes it out to be.

While they did not discard Chihiro outright or gave her away or the likes, their parents all but neglected and abandoned her. Borderline treating her as if she wasn't even there half the time. She could count the number of times they had called her by her true name on a single hand. Even then, rarely did they even bother addressing her. More focus on Kazuto than anyone else. Leaving her to be tended to by the many servants and helpers the family employs. But even then, she found no care or affection from them. All but one. Leaving her truly alone, unwanted and unloved by everyone but two people. Despite that, even at an early age, she didn't blame Kazuto for stealing their parent's attention. For he too had it just as bad as her.

Where Chihiro had no future, Kazuto's future was already decided for him from the moment he was conceived. Born healthy, it was decided for him that he would be their heir. Thus, the parents focused most of their attention on Kazuto. Every single aspect of his life was planned meticulously by them, to turn him into what they wanted out of him. Everything from when he eats, what to study, what he could, who to surround himself with, and so forth. Where Chihiro was forgotten, Kazuto's life was already set in stone. The parents controlled everything and force him down a path of their choosing without any regard for him. Groomed to be their prefect heir.

What made it worse was that they were rarely even there for them, always away from them for one reason or another. Typically, business related. Employing a hands-off method for Kazuto and relying on tutors and helpers. Their relationship was a far cry from how a truly loving family acted, and more resembled a strict mentor and protégé relationship. Constantly asking for updates and reports, never once addressing for anything otherwise. He may have had their attention but like Chihiro there was no love or affection in their actions, merely to fulfill a purpose.

It was this disconnect that helped the siblings grow closer to one another. For both were in pain and suffered from their parent's lack of empathy. They found solace in one another for that was all the two of them could truly rely on. For years they were forced to endure, the hole in their hearts growing and festering every passing day. Finally, it reached a breaking point and the two decided enough was enough and that they would run away. Run far away from this neglected and hollowed life.

However, they knew that it wouldn't be simple in the slightest. Fortunately, they had helped. An old butler of the family saw what was happening and pitied the children. The kind old man acted as a bridge between the brother and sister and help to foster their love and trust for one another. As well as acting as a parental figure whenever he could. Through his help, they planned their escape.

For years, they slowly siphoned and transfers funds from their parents account, slowly as to not tip them off in any way. Building up a reserve to be used when they finally cut ties with the Haruto namesake. It would take nearly three years before they were ready. Countless plans and schemes made over the years, constantly undergoing revisions until they were absolutely sure. When Chihiro was nineteen and Kazuto seventeen, they sprung their plan. In the dead of night, and with the help of the elder butler the two siblings escaped their illustrious home, a prison to them, and traveled all the way from Tokyo prefecture to the Hiroshima prefecture.

They left no stone unturned in their escape. New identification was made for them, everything from falsifying their history, birth, and even dental records to throw anyone off. Even going so far changing their hair colors and wearing contacts. In addition to setting up decoys and several false trails all over Japan to throw off any potential pursuers off their tail. Moving into another prefecture Biodomes, they set themselves up in a decent apartment that would take care of all their needs. The accumulated wealth they reserved was enough to last them for several decades if budgeted correctly.

And then, they waited in silent and dreadful anticipation. For close to a month they kept their heads down and ears up. Waiting and listening for any signs of trouble, rumors, anything that could potentially spell disaster for their plan. The first couple of weeks were by far the most stressed filled moments of his entire life. Rarely did they ever leave the apartment, and not without taking great care to mask their face. The siblings falling prey to insomnia and paranoia, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat and hyperventilating. Their parent's looming shadow stalking them.

By the turn of the second month, the group started to relax. No longer were they as paranoid as before. Once the third month hit, they felt confident about walking the streets in daylight.

However, that begged the question of why their parents didn't try even harder to find them. If only for Kazuto as they had invested a significant amount of time, effort, and energy into grooming him for as long as they did. It made no business or rational sense not to do so. They've certainly had the influence and money to do so.

So why have they not been found yet?

That answer came one day when Kazuto happened upon a news headline where their parents announce another pregnancy. There was little mention of either of them as if they were forgotten about entirely. It made no sense and yet by the end of the fourth month it was clear that they had given up on Kazuto and Chihiro.

While they tried telling themselves they didn't care, it still hurts. Knowing and seeing just how replaceable they were. This was only further proof that their own parents saw them only as assets then true people with feelings of their own. A bitter pill to swallow, Kazuto and Chihiro accepted the reality of the situation and bid farewell to their old lives.

The old butler succumbed to heart failure later in the year, but his duty was done. The siblings were granted a new lease on life and they intended to live it out fully.

And the rest, as they say, was history.

"God…I'm so pathetic…" She chastised. Her eyes watering with tears as she tried to rub them away. Chihiro wanted to look away, away from the proof and the fact that she was so desperate that she willingly had a painting of the target of her affection commissioned. Yet, she couldn't.

Kazuto grimaced. He hated when his sister says such things, especially about herself. It wasn't her.

Kazuto recognized the root of the problem. It was because his sister had no self confidence in herself. For the wounds and scars of her past were still fresh. They could be mended, but never would they properly heal. Chihiro was deprived of any true signs of love or affection, save for with him. But sibling love was a much different beast compared to true romantic feeling. This was an entirely different ball game, and she was reasonably afraid.

He could still remember the time, way back when, when he realized that Chihiro developed a crush on Shirou. Kazuto specifically remembered teasing the heck out of her and her giving him a fair number of bruises to go along with it. Despite his playfulness, he was happy and supportive of it. As the years went on by, what began as no more than a passing flame grew into a passionate fire. Kazuto watched from the sidelines as his sister's simple crush grew for their friend and role model. Helped in no small part by Shirou being just himself. He could say with almost absolute certainty that Chihiro holds honest and true feelings for him.

It wasn't hard to see why. For Shirou was everything one could hope to find in a friend and potentially more. Kind, sincere, loyal, respectful, and so much more. In some way, he was almost the embodiment of all that was good and noble within this bitter and decrepit world.

Kazuto had a feeling that should Shirou ever learn of Chihiro's paraplegic status it would change nothing of his opinion of her. Such was the man he was. And the kind Kazuto looked up above all.

If Momonga was the Shepherd of Ainz Ooal Gown, the one that walks in front; to guide his flock and serves as their beacon. Then it was Shirou that took the role as the Shepherd's dog; his ever-faithful companion. Vigilant and diligent, he would always be there, ready to give them all the support and push they'll need.

More than that, Shirou represented something that Chihiro had missed out on and longed for, for nearly her entire life. Someone that sincerely cares about her. Not unlike the concern and care of a sibling, nor the idealization and adoration of her fans.

Someone that truly cares for her, quirks, flaws and all.

Plus, if Shirou's words were anything to go by, and Kazuto had no reason not to believe him seeing as he couldn't imagine his friend and semapi lying about such things. Shirou was definitively quite the looker if what he said about how he looked in YGGDRASIL was his true appearance. A striking and sculpted face, a powerful body with defined muscles, exotic feature such as his eyes and hair. Combined with his suave and gentile nature and sincere personality. There was a certain aura around him, almost as if he was real life bishounen. Making him basically the perfect boyfriend material when taking all of his characteristic into account.

Which only makes the whole situation all the more complicated was knowing the fact that Shirou has no true or physical body, and he was clearly older than them by at least a decade or so. With them being in their mid-twenties. As if her life wasn't bad enough, now the world was dangling an enticing fruit out of her reach.

He sighed and slapped both of his cheeks to get his head straight. The sting helping to dispel the pessimistic thoughts. He was her brother, and it was time he acted like it.

"You know what I think?" Kazuto said as he walked over to her. Despite Chihiro being the older of the two, Kazuto easily eclipsed her in the height department by a fair margin. Kneeling, he looks at her right in the eyes.

"I think you're too hard on yourself. We've known EMIYA-sempai for a long time. Do you really think he would think any less of you because of that?" Resting a supportive hand on her shoulder, he delicately corrected the lingering strands of her hair out of the way, tucking them behind her ears. Kazuto gave a gentle smile.

Chihiro let out a few cute sniffles but she didn't answer.

"Exactly!" He continued. "Like hell EMIYA-sempai is that shallow. Besides, even if we ignore all of that and focus on appearance. I can confidently say you're not that bad looking sis. Especially now since you no longer look like a walrus."

"Hey!" She screamed in indignation, even punching him hard in the arms for that comment. Her cheeks reddened from Kazuto recalling back to when she was fat. Her neglectful teenage years characterized by binge eating to help cope with the stress and loneliness. Thankfully she lost a ton of weight during her YGGDRASIL days. But that still didn't stop her bothersome brother from bringing it up from time to time in order to mortify her.

"Kidding, kidding!" He tried to appease as the punches continued. "Point is, EMIYA-sempai is not the kind of guy that cares for appearance. We both know that."

Hearing this, Chihiro let up on her punches, a small contemplative frown crossing her face as she listened to her brother. Seeing this, Kazuto continued.

"Not to mention, there are only three female members within Ainz Ooal Gown, counting yourself of course. Yamaiko-sensei and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi-san being the other two. And out of three, you've known him and spent the most time with EMIYA-sempai. Arguably, you're the one who knows him the best. So, if anyone got a shot at hooking it with him, it'll be you sis!" He reasoned.

"Plus, it's a package deal! If you two hooked up, then he's also getting me as well. And I'm awesome!"

She rolled her eyes but there was no denying the small smile on Chihiro's face. His plan to cheer her up was working!

"Point is if anyone got a chance at being with EMIYA-sempai. It's you nee-san!" He told her, and he believed in it wholeheartedly.

Chihiro said nothing but Kazuto could clearly see the gears in her head turning from their conversation.

"Y-you think so?" She asked as she glanced back down to the painting. A healthy rosy hue coloring her cheeks.

"Totally!" He reinforced. "And if EMIYA-sempai still needs a bit more convincing, maybe you should think of showing him some _pictures_ to further incentive him and show what he's missing out on?" Kazuto wiggled his eyebrows impishly, accompanied by a suggestive grin.

Chihiro's cheeks reddened further, only this time in bashfulness. She gave him a shove, followed by exclaiming "idiot" to him. Kazuto on the hand just laughed at her reaction.

"Like hell, I'll do that!" She exclaimed." That does not mention the possibility of him rejecting me as well!"

"Come on sis, again you're being too hard on yourself. EMIYA-sempai may not have a real body or anything, but he's still a hot-blooded man just like me and everyone else in Ainz Ooal Gown There's no way he'll reject you." Kazuto argued.

"Not unless he's gay." Chihiro retorted half-jokingly.

"That's a good one nee-san!" Kazuto laughed only for it to peter out a moment later. His eyes snapping open with an urgent look.

"Otouto?" Chihiro called out, seeing the odd shift.

He said nothing, his expression taking a pensive look. As if he was giving something some serious thoughts.

"Could EMIYA-sempai be gay?" He asked seriously.

To which Chihiro leveled a deadpanned look to him, as if to say "really?" Not that he even noticed it that is.

"I-I mean…He's never really showed much of an interest one way or another, no matter how much I've showed him or tries to talk him into try a series out. I think even a few female players once tried catcalling him, and EMIYA-sempai all but ignored them! Maybe that's why he never gets excited when I show him the latest trends and hentai's! It doesn't matter if it's the latest Bondage Monthly magazine or the newest and lewdest hentai coming out. He's always so neutral about them, even when the others like Tabula-san or even Ulbert-san show some interests! Is it because he doesn't have an interests in them, meaning he might be gay!"

 _'Just because he doesn't indulge in your blatant perverted and near self-indulgent hobbies doesn't make him gay.'_ Chihiro mused to herself. Feeling a headache coming along from her own brother jumping the gun by a very large margin.

Everyone within Ainz Ooal Gown knew that Kazuto was a pervert. But, only his closest of his inner circle of friends knew just how much of a raging pervert he was. He wasn't above making pervy jokes and everything around others, but it was only in the comfort of his friends that he truly felt comfortable letting loose. His closest confidants being Momonga and Shirou. Unlike Momonga who got embarrassed and exasperated of Kazuto's self-indulgent interests rather easily Shirou had no problem keeping up with him.

Shirou would always be willing to hear him out and allow him to fanboy and indulge in his perverted fantasies and hobbies without any fear of scorn or judgment from others. He was always respectful and even insightful on a few matters. It was also him that cautioned Kazuto to never blur the line between reality and fiction. Showing genuine care and concern, as well as giving him a knock on the head if or rather, when he goes too far.

It also seemed that Kazuto had forgotten when Shirou first told them that he had a girlfriend once upon a time. She called out to him, but he was too preoccupied with his own wild conspiracy to even notice or hear her.

"I've also noticed that he tends to hang out the others a lot more frequently as well. Could it be…that's he actually likes one of them?! But who? Tabula-san? No, it wouldn't make sense...not unless they're trying to throw everyone off! What about Warrior Takemikazuchi-san? They've been hanging around a lot recently. What if, it's Momonga-san?! They've been friends for the longest time. No, wait! What if it's Touch Me-san! He's married, however, but what if EMIYA-sempai doesn't care! A forbidden romance!"

"Oh, great. Here we go again…" She groaned, recognizing that her brother was going to start on one of his inane babbles. Chihiro couldn't help but cringe and shudder at his wild imagination and harebrained nonsense. And now she'll have to deal with such rancid imagery in her head now thanks to him.

"Not that's there anything wrong with that!" He suddenly shouted, as if somehow Kazuto offended Shirou by implying that he wasn't into liking woman.

"EMIYA-sempai can like whoever he wishes! Even if he swings for the other team, I'll still be right behind him all the way!" He declared passionately, determination burning in his eyes at some ill-convinced imaginary insult. A clenched fist raised to the skies as if Kazuto was making a sacred vow.

 _'And now the conversation shifted wildly once again.'_ Chihiro thought. Once again, she called out to him to no avail.

"Considering his looks and cool attitude, and everything I bet he got a ton of attention in the past. He's awesome and a total badass, but also super kind and sincere too! Girls like those kinds of qualities, right? So I can totally see a bunch of girls going after him. I mean, no offense sis but EMIYA-sempai is the kind of man I can see that is a total chick magnet! You think he ever had girls fighting over him?"

As Kazuto continued his rambling on another wild topic, something hit her. A realization of sorts. As she thought more about it, the more it made sense watching him praise Shirou. Chihiro felt the corners of her lips twitching and tried to contain herself. As Kazuto continued on she couldn't contain herself from crackling. This managed to catch Kazuto's attention.

"Oi, nee-san. What are you laughing at?" He asked.

"N-nothing…" She answered in a strangely happy strained voice, her lips twitching into a smile. It looked as if Chihiro was trying very hard to control herself from breaking out into laughter right then and there.

"There's no way it's nothing. Not with that face." He rebuked. "Come on!"

"I've just noticed something. T-that's all." She vaguely answered. She was trying to hold it in, her shoulders hunching from the concealed giggles. But like a dam about to burst open, it wouldn't be long before she let loose.

"Come on nee-san, just spills the beans already!" He pleaded.

 _'You ask for it.'_ Chihiro thought.

"You're **gar** for EMIYA-san!" With nothing to hold her back, Chihiro laughed with unrestrained glee and amusement.

Hearing this, Kazuto's brain short circuited and for a few seconds. He was stunned by her words. That quickly changed once it hit him what his sister just said to him.

"W-what?! No, I'm not!" He blushingly denied.

"Yes, you are. You're completely **gar** for Shirou!" She laughed even harder. Tears dripping down her cheeks from how hard she was laughing.

The term **gar** was an internet slang, that associated with same-sex affection for those that perceive a character or person as powerful or overly masculine. It was a form of idealization, similar to fanboying a male individual or character one views as cool, admirable, inspiring, or any other noteworthy qualities. It's main point of contention was that its term used to call out or point to someone whom was blatant or obvious in their glorification of someone.

It was a form of teasing, basically calling the individual out for potentially being gay due the complete exaltation and idol worship they give to their target of adoration.

Which, oddly and scarily enough, accurately describes Kazuto's views and relationship to Shirou.

"F-for starters Y-you completely l-look up to him." She managed to get out in between breaths.

"O-of course I looked to EMIYA-sempai. You do as well, and so does the others!" He argued.

"Then there's the fact that you've constantly referred to him as 'sempai' ever since we've met him all those years ago." She pointed out.

"W-well. He is our friend, and he did help with finally deciding what play style that suited me best. EMIYA-sempai taught me everything to be an archer and made me who I am today. I'm just paying him the proper respect!" Kazuto reasoned. His cheeks growing redder by the second.

"Ok, what about your blatant fanboying and support for EMIYA-san no matter the situation." Chihiro brought up.

"That's just me giving him my support! Wouldn't you do the same for a friend?" He fired back. His ears burning red as he felt his whole face lightening up in embarrassment.

"There's also counting the fact that you've always searching or asking for him, to either party up and play with, or just to hang out. You're always looking for EMIYA-san in one form or another." Chihiro contended.

"I-I…well…" Kazuto stammered for a bit, before clearing his throat and answered back. "Well, since EMIYA-san is stuck within YGGDRASIL, we should always try and hang out as much as we can for that's all the time we can game out. There are times when the others can't be online, so I want to make sure he doesn't get lonely or anything." He answered, though it sounded like a flimsy answer and they both knew it.

"What about you praising him for almost everything he does or says. Be it fighting a boss solo, finding a dungeon or secret location, giving away data crystal, etc…" She listed.

"I…" Kazuto faltered slightly, and she took advantage of that opening.

"Not to mention the countless times in the past you've tried to get his attention or praise, by either showing off or doing some equally stupid or crazy." Chihiro continued without letting up.

At this point, Kazuto was completely and utterly trounced. Unable to mount a proper comeback without having the argument used against him.

A sense of déjà vu washed over Kazuto as this was the second time today that he felt utterly embarrassed and there was nothing he could really do. Earlier with his girlfriend, what with Reina basically beating at his own arguments. Now, it was his own sister trumping him at every turn and argument. Adding insult to injury was the fact that the topic for both of them was basically one in the same.

"I'm not gay!" He shouted in frustration and embarrassment.

"There, there. It's ok you know. It's 2134, no one's going to judge you if you are." She playfully patronized, clapping on the shoulder as if to show him support.

Kazuto let out a loud and frustrated groan, giving up at this point. Both of his hands rose and covered his entire face. Trying to himself from any further embarrassment. As she watched on, an idea struck her. Her laughed died down as her smile took an almost sadistic grin.

"I do have to ask one question." She asked, schooling her face to not give anything away.

Kazuto simply removed his hands and gave her a skeptical look. With a seemingly small and innocent smile, she said this.

"Am I going to have some competition?" She teased, a manicured hand raised over her mouth, an unbearable haughty look on her face as if she was looking down on him despite the fact he was taller than her. Her smug look radiating complete superiority.

That was the final nail in the coffin.

"I do not like EMIYA-sempai in **_that_** way!" He yelled.

Kazuto's face quickly resembled a ripe tomato. Chihiro's laughter returned in full force at his response. She banged her hand on her wheelchair as she struggled to breathe from how much she was laughing.

Kazuto, on the other hand, said nothing for he didn't trust himself to say anything else that might be turned against him. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked away. Pouting all the way, with a scarlet face as the clear amusing laughter of his sister rang in their apartment. It would take another minute before they started to die down.

"Thanks…" She said, wiping the tears of joy and laughter from her eyes.

"Oh, sure. Glad that I could help cheer you up at my own expense." Kazuto sarcastically replied and rolled his eyes.

Chihiro let out some residual chuckles and took deep breaths to calm herself. Getting it under control, she had only this to say.

"Still…thanks. I really meant it otouto." She said, complete gratitude evident in her voice.

Kazuto simply huffed, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Feeling better now?" He asked

"Yeah…" She answered softly, her gaze turning back to the forgotten painting.

"Now that's taken care of, why don't we find a place to put him." He prompted. Walking around he pushed the wheelchair with Chihiro on it towards her room.

"I'm still serious about what I said, I need to get me one of those amazing paintings as well!" He said conversely.

"I'll see what I can do. Though, you'll need to clear that pigsty of a room if you want to have a place to put a painting of this caliber in your room. Namely those tasteless hentai posters you have hung in your room."

"I don't see what's exactly the problem. Besides, you don't hear me complain about your room or anything. Not to mention, with the painting of EMIYA-sempai surrounded by my other posters, it'll be as if he has his own harem!"

"Of course, you would think something as inane as that."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Exactly what it says!"

The two bickered back and forth but it was clear they both were having fun with it.

Heading inside, Chihiro instructed where she wanted the painting to hang from and Kazuto set out to do so. Hanging it where it would be the most ideal spot, the two stepped back and admired it. A small sense of comradery filled the air as the two stood in silence, basking in the beauty of the artistic painting and what it represented for both of them.

"It's not going to get any easier you know." He said suddenly, filling in the comfortable silence. "Waiting that is. Take from me, waiting isn't going to make the problem or situation any better. If anything, it's only to get worse as time goes on."

"Are you really giving me relationship advice?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Sis." Kazuto earnestly said. His face and tone solemn, making her take it seriously as well.

Chihiro clamped up but she said nothing.

He continued. "Sometimes you've just gotta bite the bullet and do it. Even if the answer might scare you. That's what EMIYA-sempai taught me when I was thinking of asking Reina-san out. And look at how that turned out."

"I know…" She said. Chihiro brought her hands together, wringing her hands as they trembled slightly as she admitted this.

"I'm not asking you to suddenly confess to EMIYA-sempai right now, or tomorrow or even within a week. But what I am asking you is to make up your mind and choose. Or else you might come to regret not making it when you had the chance to." He imparted, a surprisingly amount of wisdom in his words.

"It's ok to be scared, but you shouldn't let it make everything decision for you."

"Of course, I'm scared." Chihiro let out. "I'm afraid that he might say no, and it somehow makes everything awkward for everyone within Ainz Ooal Gown. I'm even more afraid if he somehow says yes! I don't even know what to do if that somehow happens. I-I just…don't know…"

If Kazuto caught the trembling in her voice, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he kept quiet to allow her to collect her thoughts and bearings.

Chihiro said nothing, slowly she turned her head to look at something. There, across from them was her desk holding all her equipment and monitors. Sitting there was a small frame picture and upon closer inspection, it's revealed to be the same picture that was taken back when Ainz Ooal Gown conquered the Tomb of Nazarick. Every single member altogether, like one massive, happy family. Herself positioned close to her target of affection within the photograph as they posed for the camera.

"I…like him. I really do, more than I ever thought I possible." Chihiro openly confessed. While her voice was soft and bashful, there a layer resoluteness in her words. "I know this is unrealistic and unfair, but I want to make it special. If—When I confess to him, I want to put everything into it. All my thoughts, feelings, and emotions. More than anything, I want to let Shirou know just how much he means to me! For everything that he's done for us." She announced.

Kazuto felt his chest puffed out in pride. Now there was the sister he loved and admired. The one that would face everything head on, no matter what it was.

"And when that time comes, I'll be right behind you. All the way." He rested a hand on her shoulder with a gentle and supportive squeeze.

"Thank you, otouto." Chihiro thanked with a grateful smile

"Always, nee-san." Kazuto returned with one of his own.

Thus, a tranquil and resolute silence descended onto the siblings. The experience they shared were engraved in their hearts. And from their trials, they rose stronger before. Determined more than ever to see their wishes and aspirations come to fruition.

They say that life imitates art, and that couldn't be any truer for the sibling duo, represented by their YGGDRASIL player characters.

If there was one creature that embodies Chihiro perfectly then it would be the slime. Weak and unassuming, it mirrors her own struggles.

A monster commonly depicted as the bottom feeders of any fantasy RPG, they were but stepping stones for those born with innate talent. Forever viewed as a weak race no matter the game. Forever looked down upon by no real fault of their own.

Such was the life of the useless. Those left behind by the world. Those cursed by the cruel hands of fate. The destiny of Chihiro, was one ripe for disappointment.

Yet, despite this stigma and harsh truth, she never folded to the crushing reality imposed upon her.

For nothing is set in stone. As the mightiest of mountains once started as no more than a stone.

Unable to walk or run, instead, she chose to crawl. Clawing at every obstacle that dared to cross her path. Refusing to be remain complacent in such a cruel world. She was born paraplegic? That was why wheelchairs were invented. Unable to attend school? Online courses it is. Jobless? Voice acting. She fought tooth and nail every step she took, but never did she retreat. Chihiro faced it all, undaunted and unwavering, till she imposed her own view on the world.

In an era, where one's birth dictated their future, whether that be a corporate slave or a CEO, she rejected that reality and substituted her own.

They called her [The Unsinkable Slime] when she donned her slime persona, but that alias was one born from her own perseverance. Much like how in game she weathered all attacks her enemies might throw at her. A wall that shielded her friends and allies from all that would try and harm them. She stood her ground against all of life's challenges to become who she was today.

Chihiro made a name for herself both within the virtual world of YGGDRASIL and the real world, showing everyone the strength of those they would proclaim as useless.

Going from the weakest among the weak, to an unmovable force befitting of her job as a tank. Going from a no one to someone, a voice actress and idol.

Birdmen. One of the heteromorphic races with the innate ability of flight. Graced with the fortune of taking to the skies, they were free creatures. But a bird with clipped wings was forever to be grounded, prey to those who tore their plumage.

Kazuto was born privileged. His birth was one of pedigree and fortune. With above average smarts and looks, he was destined for greatness. Or so it was expected of him. However, in this cruel world he learned one of life's most crucial lessons. Nothing in life was truly free.

A life of luxury and comfort, but at what cost? His freedom.

For, no matter how grand or splendid the illusion was it was still a prison to him. Nothing more than a gilded cage.

He was to be a trophy son. Something that his parents can point at and brag about with their various business partners. Something to wash away the stain that his sister brought upon the family name.

He was a parrot for his masters' belief.

Forever pulled upon strings that imitated the flight he was stripped of.

The taunt of unreachable freedom, however, could only fool another for so long.

Try as he could, he would always land and be grounded by those who held authority over him. Given a taste of freedom that would never last, he grew hungry for it. Hungry for the ability to unshackle oneself from those who would crush him beneath their heel. Like any true creature of the sky, it was in their very nature to fly. Kazuto knew he could not—would not allow it to chain him. Soon, a chance appeared, and he took a leap of faith and spread his wings to soar higher than he thought before.

Where Kazuto's sister learned to preserve he learned to strike back.

They called him [The Winged King of Explosive Strikes] within YGGDRASIL. Known for his deadly marksmanship as a sniper. It's said that he could snipe a player at two kilometer with ease, all the while flying through the air. With nothing but his own hands and means he made a choice.

To live as docile pet or fight as a bird of prey.

And so, he learned to strike back. He sharpened his once dull talons in weapons. With the ability to soar through the virtual sky and to lay waste to those who remained beneath him, Kazuto became an untouchable avian who claimed the earth and sky as his own. Never would he allow himself to be grounded by anyone else, but himself.

It was this freedom of choice that mainly attributed to their growth and them truly growing into their own.

Chihiro accidentally coming across a recruitment advertisement on voice acting and inspiring her to try her hand. Leading to her getting into voice acting and discovering a talent that would have remained buried had she remained complacent. Finding something where she truly felt comfortable, no matter her status and giving her all into it. Growing to love and enjoy every moment of it; the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. And her efforts were rewarded, not only allowing her to make a living doing what she loved and enjoyed. Most importantly of all, showing and proving to the world that her life wasn't inconsequential. Shown in part by her many adoring fans. Even if most of them were perverts that bought the H-games. But, hey! It was the thought that counted.

Kazuto, due to being so sheltered for most of his early life was rather naïve in many ways when it came to the world. It was thanks to this naivety that he one day happened upon something that would change his life forever. Through a series of mishaps, he had unknowingly stumbled upon something that would forever change his life; doujinshis and hentai. And from then on, his eyes were opened to a whole new world. One of erotic splendor and opulent pleasure. So different was it, so raw in its nature and essence to everything he once knew Kazuto could not help but sink deeper within it. Something awakened in him, his inner pervert manifesting. Leading him to become the massive, but endearing pervert that he was. It was here that he saw for what it truly was. Art. Just as Chihiro found her calling, so too did Kazuto. Pushing him towards a path of designer and artist.

The siblings carved an identity for them, discovering who they were truly were in life.

For they were Kazuto and Chihiro Haruto.

The crippled voice actress and the perverted artist

He, who soared and reached new heights and she, that persevered and made her stand.

Brother and sister.

Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama of Ainz Ooal Gown.

It didn't matter what or who they were called.

For, they were content with whom they were. And they wouldn't give it up for anything in the whole world.

A fitting conclusion to end the matter.

—But again, this was Kazuto née Peroroncino that's being discussed. So of course, he would do something to ruin the moment.

"You know, EMIYA-sempai has a clear view of your bed and can totally see you if you masturbate." He pointed out.

And just like that Peroroncino destroyed what remained of the serene ambiance with the same effectiveness as how one would use a hammer to break into open a walnut. In other words; completely and utterly absurd and ludicrous.

"Ughhh." She let out a pained and audible groan. Were it possible Chihiro would have no doubt perform a textbook face fault right then and there. Instead, she facepalmed herself. "You just had to ruin it didn't you. Couldn't have kept your mouth closed, could you!?"

"Nope~" He returned, popping the 'p' at the end. A cheeky grin plastered all over his face.

The kicker was that it was the truth. The painting hung from a wall that had a direct line of sight to her bed. So, there was some truth in his words. Combined with the painting intense stare in the direction of her bed, it only further proved his point. It was almost as if Shirou was staring at where he was facing.

"I hate you." She stated.

Kazuto, on the other hand, let out his own victory laugh, finally getting the metaphorical and literal last laugh from Chihiro and the situation.

* * *

Sometime later, the two of them hopped onto YGGDRASIL. Currently, they were in their guild base; The Great Tomb of Nazarick. In front of them were their own respective NPCs. Peroroncino's Shalltear and Bukubukuchagama's Aura and Mare. After nearly a month of hard work, designs, coding, programs, and settings. All that was left were the finishing touches.

YGGDRASIL allows for a player to customize their NPCs however they wish, from appearance, abilities, equipment, and even gave plenty of space for what they called their backlog. This space allows the player's creativity to shine. Allowing them to design and write a personality for the NPCs, a way of giving it life by allowing players to think of and design personality, quirks, and history for the NPC to embody. Along with any nuisances they wish to include. Something to allow players to indulge in.

The two have been at it for nearly two hours now, doing nothing but designing and coding their NPC's backstory, personality and flavor text to their specifications.

"How's your progress coming along otouto?" Bukubukuchagama asked absentmindedly, not taking her attention away from the console.

"All done actually!" He exclaimed. A smiling emoticon appearing over him. Peroroncino also sounded exorbitantly pleased with himself as well.

"I dare say, she's a masterpiece!" He praised, looking over the petite form of Shalltear.

Bukubukuchagama paused and looked over to her brother's NPCs. She was willing to admit the vampire had an ethereal beauty to her. From her porcelain like skin, striking crimson eyes, delicate facial features, and her petite body. Her exotic appearance and attires only added to her nature. Though that only proved what she was already thinking at the time.

"She's a walking sex doll full of kinks and fetishes, isn't she?" The slime heteromorph inquired.

"Hey! What makes you say that?" Peroroncino hotly returned.

"Because it's you." She answered back succinctly. As if that was all the answer needed that explained everything; which to be fair it did.

"I…well. Ok, I'll have to give you that." The avian heteromorph admitted without much of a fight. "I don't see what's wrong, it's my creation after all. You don't see me criticizing your NPCs."

"Because I'm not doing something completely stupid with them." Was Bukubukuchagama biting response.

"Which you're not telling us, myself included, either! Heck, for all we know you could be writing in their lore and backstory that they look up to EMIYA-sempai as their father and you as their mother. Or something equally as bizarre." Was the golden archer's response.

Peroroncino readied himself for his sister's comeback, only it never came. Confused and curious, he looked over to her to see that she stopped typing. In any other situation, her sudden quietness would have been dismissed were it not for the blushing emoticon unintendedly hovering over her head.

"No way…" He whispered in half surprise and half ironic amusement. A semi-smug smiling face emoticon appeared above him. Matching his own triumphant smile.

"You totally are!"

"S-shut up!"

He raced over to her side, all the while Bukubukuchagama clutched and moved her console interface as to not allow Peroroncino to read its content.

"Otouto! If you don't give up now, I will beat you over the head! Got that?!" She screamed in her serious voice.

"Ok, ok. Sheesh, no need to blow a gasket sis. Though, the cat is out of the bag as they say." He joked to which Bukubukuchagama growled at him.

Looking over at her NPCs, he carefully took them in. They were a pair of dark elves, looked to be no older than say twelve years old. In human years anyway as commonly in fantasy, elves have an extended life span. They wore stylish clothes that easily matched their appearance, a form fitting suit and demure dress for their gender respectively. Kazuto could only guess their true gender as the pair of NPC were quite ambiguous with their appearance and clothing. It was only when Peroroncino got to their eyes that he managed to make a connection.

"Ohh, it's the eyes isn't it!" He called out, gesturing to their eyes.

Indeed, for both Aura and Mare had heterochromatic eyes. One of oceanic blue and the other of emerald green. Connecting the idea and similarity to Shirou's own heterochromatic eyes of brilliant silver and molten gold. There was also the fact his skin was a deep and smooth tan which matched up with the dark elves own darkened skin. That, and they along with Shirou were Humanoid compared to everyone else who were mostly Heteromorphs.

"I'm no biology genius, but even I know that a human plus a slime doesn't exactly equal a dark elf." He illustrated this by raising both of his hands, one as if to represent a human and the other to represent a slime and slammed them together. Peroroncino then opened them and gestures to the pair of NPCs.

Peroroncino took a jab. He had expected an equally fierce response from his sister, only for Bukubukuchagama to sigh disheartedly.

"I knew it was a stupid idea…" She lamented, her hands hovering over the console keyboard.

Peroroncino immediately recognized what she was about to do and rushed to stop her.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy nee-san, no need to get rid of it! I was just teasing you, that's all." He insisted.

"What does it matter? It's my NPCs after all, so if I want to get rid of something I can do it!" Bukubukuchagama returned, using the same counter argument Peroroncino had made, now against him.

"Ok, ok. I get it. You're embarrassed." He raised his hand in mock surrender. "How about this."

Peroroncino raced back to his Shalltear and interface console before moving the both of them next to Aura and Mare. Bukubukuchagama internally arched a brow, curious as to what he was doing. He rapidly typed in something before making it visible for her to see. At the bottom of the veritable wall of text was a simple line.

 _"She is in mega love with EMIYA."_

Looking up, Peroroncino could feel the deadpanned glare baring into him.

"First of all, how does that relate back to my issue? Secondly, you seriously used the word mega? Really?" She questioned incredulously.

"Well, I figured since you wrote something related back to EMIYA-sempai, I figured I should try and do the same as well." He gave his answer, although he was willing to admit on second viewing Bukubukuchagama did have a point with the first question.

She said nothing and merely stared at him. Seeing that his endeavor wasn't working out, Peroroncino tackled the issue alternatively.

"Alright, I will admit I was being a bit meanspirited, but I actually like what you did. Just as how I did admittingly made Shalltear to my own specifications, you shouldn't erase something you truly feel strongly about. Even if it's a bit wish-fulfillment. If anything, you should go for it; all the way! After all, isn't that why the devs allow us to create NPCs however we want to in the first place?" Peroroncino reasoned.

Bukubukuchagama said nothing, her hand still frozen above the keyboard.

"In a way, I kind of see them as you do as well sis. These are our creations. We have the right and freedom to make it however we wish. If you actually see them that way and wish for you and EMIYA-sempai to be seen by them in such a manner. Then go for it! No matter what anyone says. No one's going to judge you, especially me. I promise." He vowed.

After a moment of silence, she gave her answer.

"Alright, but if you ever tell anyone; especially EMIYA-san. I will burn your hentai collection. All of them!" She promised, and she was serious as well.

"I promise! It'll be no one else's secret but our own." He quickly agreed. Gulping at the sheer thought of his precious treasured being destroyed.

Bukubukuchagama nodded and got back to work. While Peroroncino let out a sigh of relief. As they were working, a new conversation picked up.

"You still haven't completely explained why you said your NPC is in love with EMIYA-san." She questioned.

"What? Afraid of some competition?" He teased.

She snorted derivatively. "Please. As if I would feel threatened by pieces of line and codes. You still haven't answered my question."

To which Peroroncino responded with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"Honestly, it was a combination of everything I said and because I kind of felt like it. In a way, I want to show my appreciation for him. Since he's stuck in YGGDRASIL, I figured an NPC would be the next best thing. You know, like a companion."

"Which, again I reiterate is the walking embodiment of your kinks and fetishes. And you thought it would be a neat idea to 'gift' EMIYA-sempai her?" She responded with a hint of derision.

"Well, when you put it like that…" He scratched the back of his head in slight uncertainty. "I figured even EMIYA-sempai gets lonely sometimes. Maybe, she'll keep him company when we're not around." He phrased it suggestively.

"Please. Unlike you, EMIYA-san has some class and decency." Bukubukuchagama immediately dismissed without a second thought.

"Ehh, you'd never know."

As Peroroncino stepped back to allow his sister to do her own thing in peace, he looked back to the pair of NPC.

 _'EMIYA-sempai as the dad and sis as the mom, huh?'_ He mused. Behind the NPC siblings, the image of Shirou and Bukubukuchagama appeared standing behind them. His mind conjuring them as they appear as their YGGDRASIL player avatars. Peroroncino chuckled under his breath at the endearing but dysfunctional looking family. That only made it more charming in his eyes.

 _"I guess that also makes me their uncle then.'_ He thought amusingly.

Thematically, he understood his sister's intention. Aura and Mare were born from her own thoughts and desires and were molded by it. Handcrafted to their specifications. Making the NPCs their children in a way. In that light, Bukubukuchagama's decision could almost be made to seem as if she was paying Shirou proper credence.

Shirou had a hand in one form or another in helping everyone in Ainz Ooal Gown when it came to the creation of their NPCs. Either small, such as helping those pin down what creature they'll be or appearance. To a more hands-on approach, helping them to conceptualize and craft their abilities, powers, and inner workings. Practically building them from the ground up side by side the guild members.

Which was the case with Peroroncino and his Shalltear. Where he asked, more like pleaded with, him to help with narrowing down an idea for the NPC. As always Shirou agreed with little difficulties and the two got to work.

Oddly enough to Peroroncino, when he and Shirou were planning on what NPC he should create, he was extremely knowledgeable on one particular subject of monsters; vampires. Or Dead Apostles as he once heard him say. The golden archer was unfamiliar with the term, not even the player created monster index, which holds the information for all monster discovered in YGGDRASIL so far showed no result. Peroroncino ultimately decided to keep it; as in his opinion, it was a rather badass sounding name compared to vampire. Close to everything else was left to Peroroncino's design with some minor help here and there.

Thinking on it, Peroroncino was reminded of the time when Momonga was creating his own NPC. Shirou had offered to help him as he did with everyone else. Only for their skeletal guild master to object to it. Almost vehemently, as if he was afraid or embarrassed about something. In the end, the matter was forgotten and everyone moved on.

From there the two worked in silence and within a few minutes, they were finished. On time too as the wristwatch Bukubukuchagama had on beeped. Her own cutesy voice saying time was up.

"It's been two hours already? Man, time sure flies." Peroroncino commented while stretching.

Bukubukuchagama turned it off and returned the item to her inventory. With a swipe of her hand, she opened her menu and moved to log out. Before she actually logged out, the voice actress took one last look at her innocent looking NPC. A tingle of doubt returning back to her.

"Maybe, I should get rid of it…" She mused aloud.

"Hey, hey. Stop that thought right now." Peroroncino intervened. "It's fine as it is, so no need to let it mess you up when it really shouldn't. After all, it's not hurting anyone. No one knows but us, and potentially Momonga-san and even if he does discover it he's not the type to blab." He reasoned.

"Besides…" His hand hovering over the log out button. "What's the worst that can happen?"

With those final words, Peroroncino logged out. Bukubukuchagama remained contemplative for a few more seconds before hitting the logout button as well.

In a flash of light, she disappeared following her brother, leaving the lifeless NPCs by themselves. All was silent as the Shalltear, Aura, and Mare remained motionless like statues. Their eyes while vibrant and colorful were truly lifeless and dull. Like a puppet with its strings cut, a simple illusion to their virtual life. There, they would remain that way until something happened. For no more than a brief moment, something flickered within their gaze. A glint in their eyes, a sign of true life and intelligent. As quickly as it came so too did it disappear. As if there was nothing there in the first place. Returning back to their previous empty gaze.

They say that even the smallest of ripples can make massive waves.

And no one, especially the siblings, was none the wiser to what truly happened that day.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **The original idea and concept was mainly centering on Peroroncino, but as time went on I decided to incorporate Bukubukuchagama. Helping to foster the sibling dynamic and their own character growth. From almost the very beginning, I had an idea and a plan on how I wanted to write and characterize them as rarely have we seen any new idea or takes on these characters. Giving me** **carte blanche to try my hand at writing them.**

 **\- Back when this story was but nothing but a scramble of ideas. I knew from the beginning that I did not want Peroroncino to be the "Issei" of the story. The term is one I use colloquially to refer to any character whose only real prominent in a story is a massive pervert. In reference of course to the character of Issei of Highschool DxD for the same thing. We all know that Peroroncino is a pervert, but I wanted to dive in the how and whys. Rarely or if at all have I seen Peroroncino explored in other way as it's common to just defer to him as the perverted comic relief character. Yes, he's a pervert but I did not want it to be his sole defining characteristics.**

 **Anyone can write an archetype, but I wanted to try and write a character.**

 **There are many facets to him, which are sometime overshadowed by his known pervert nature. He's clearly an extremely capable player, both within Ainz Ooal Gown and within YGGDRASIL. His high ranking and min-max play style reflect this. I alluded to this in the previous chapter during the the fight with the Chimera boss where Peroroncino was able to come up with the plan to free Shirou and execute it rather flawlessly. Another** **clear example would be Shalltear herself. There's a reason very few within the Tomb of Nazarick will dare try and mess with her unless they know they could outright beat her. This indicates Peroroncino does know what he's doing when he gave her hard counters to the members of AOG.**

 **It's the little thing that shows there's more to him, and I had wanted to try and put a unique spin on him, with this origin and backstory that I've created for him.**

 **-** **The idea for having Bukubukuchagama being a paraplegic was actually inspired from another story with the same concept. [Nazarick in real world]. I thought the idea was a neat one so I decided to try my own take on it.** **In truth, I never really planned for any big ideas or concept for her unlike Peroroncino until much, much later. We know that she's a prolific voice actress, and her main trade is in H-games and erotica, so I decided to try and connect the two ideas, their origins, the idea of having her in a wheelchair and connect it to what we know of her in canon.** **As I was thinking on what to do, I thought of their player avatar and how they perfectly could represent and fit in with my ideas for the two characters.**

 **Hence the allusions and motif found in the chapter.**

 **\- Bukubukuchagama being unable to use her leg, thus she's viewed as all but useless in the eyes of the world and Japan. Mirroring the status of slimes in games and media as monsters that are always been looked down upon and viewed weak, or beginner fodder in the genre. The connection being that she plays as a slime Heteromorph. And similar to her play style in game, as Ainz Ooal Gown's premier front-line tank, known in canon to be able to defend almost anything. I wanted that connect that back into her origin, showing a strong and fiery and unyielding spirit. Working into the idea of her confining to a wheel chair which also connects to her becoming a voice actress in this context.**

 **\- The same goes with Peroroncino. The motif and symbolism of a cage bird connecting back to his origin as a child of rich and influential parents that saw him as something to mold him into rather than an actual person. Coming from the idea of helicopter parents; the belief that such autonomy and choice are needed. The caged bird in the gilded cage symbolism isn't a unique idea but I felt it fitted perfectly with Peroroncino's avian player avatar.** **When he ran away, he broke free of his cage and took a leap of faith. Now, he was his own man, no longer burdened or forced to be someone he's not. The allusion of Kazuto being a beast of flight fitted more into the idea of how he became a pervert. Afterall, everyone was like that at one point. Naive and innocent until we made that accidental or faithful discovery into the "adult entertainment" world. Showing that he flew and reached never before seen heights in a way.**

 **I know I'm not exactly being original in their names, but I tried make them thematic as well if only for the fun of it.**

 **Kazuto (和仁: meaning Harmony)**

 **Chihiro (The Romanji meaning Seeker)**

 **Haruto. (大翔: meaning Great Flight)**

 **And with that, that'll be the end of this chapter. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint many of you whom want the story to continue, especially after the previous chapter climatic ending. The interludes help to give me a bit more breathing room, and while there's still at least two more confirmed chapter I hope to still make them interesting and engaging. After near back to back chapters with spectacle fighting. It nice to write a rather slow stake, and fun introspective. I especially had plenty of fun writing the banter of Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama.**

 **Thank you again for reading. Please, rate and review if you enjoyed it, or if you have a comment or question you'd like to ask.**

 **See you all in the next chapter!**

 **Next Chapter: The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown pt.2**


	9. The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown Pt II

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **Hello. It has certainly been a while hasn't it? I don't exactly have much to say, besides sorry for the long hiatus. A couple of surprises and personal issue happened over the few months that took up my time. That an the bane of all writer's, writers block. I managed to finally over come it, and life slowly settled down on my end. Enough to where I was able to write this chapter. It was actually finished much earlier, but I held off on it for a bit.**

 **Part of my hesitation for not uploading the chapter till now was also due to just how successful the last chapter was. I was a bit unsure of how the Daily Lives would play out since they were interlude style chapter, and often time people associate them with filler. And rarely is filler ever enjoyable. But I underestimated as the first interlude exploded and while I was overjoyed that so many loved my take on Peroroncino and Bukuchagama a sense of expectation came with it. I tried desperately to capture the same experience as I did with the first interlude with the other two only to find myself struggling.**

 **I was worried that this, and even the next interlude wouldn't be so well received, or on par with the first interlude. Come that with the long upload schedule, and the feeling of filler only increase.** **Eventually, I came to grip that I can't, and that I should be satisfied with what I have instead of reaching for a nigh impossibility. I still enjoyed writing the chapter, and am quite happy at how it turned out.**

 **I hope that everyone enjoys it as well. There's an Author's note at the end, listing my thoughts and reasoning for the chapter.**

 **With that said, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Beta'd: Dante Evans**

 **Word Count: 18,369**

* * *

 **Interlude: The Daily Lives of Momonga.**

 **September 25th, 2134.**

It was early morning, although that was impossible to tell due to the smog covered skies of the outside world as well as the curtains on the windows. All was dark and quiet within the room, nothing but ambient noise and the soft sound of slumber.

Contrasting with the tranquil room was the exact state of it. All manners of clothing were strewn all over the room. As if a tornado had its way with the room. Clothing and undergarments of both sexes were scattered all throughout. The most provocative was a pair of panties dangling from the ceiling fan above.

It wasn't difficult to gleam of what transpired from the state of the room.

Within the center of the shambled room was a single unkempt bed. A blanket was draped over the occupant, covering everything from their chest downwards. There, the two laid in bed together, the couples were resting on their sides with their sleeping faces facing one another. The woman's head was resting on her partner's forearm, using it as a convenient pillow. Her hands pressed against his chest as if to cuddle with him. His other hand completing the imagery with it resting on her supple back, bringing her closer to him.

On the surface it was the picture of serenity. A man and a woman; seemingly lovers, naked as the day they were born in one another's gentle embrace. Peacefully sleeping without a care in the world.

However, that couldn't have been any further from the truth.

For upon closer inspection, the individual revealed himself to be none other than Momonga or rather, Satoru Suzuki. And he wasn't asleep either. Far from it in fact. Satoru was completely conscious and awake in that very moment. In fact, Satoru has been awake for a whole thirty minutes. When he had first woke up and found himself in the company of a woman, a naked one at that, within his very own bed. He reacted accordingly as anyone would.

In Satoru's case, reacting like a late twenty-year-old awkward, virgin with extremely poor social skills when it came to interacting with members of the opposite gender, that were not through a digital medium aka YGGDRASIL.

No, he did not exclaim at the top of his voice and wildly flailed around. Though he was very close to do just that, the salaryman managed to control himself and prevented himself from making a scene.

Satoru instead squeezed his eyes completely shut and remained as still as possible. Even clamping his mouth closed to prevent himself from screaming in surprise when he first laid eyes on her. Satoru choose to remain motionless, feigning sleep. He was even too afraid of moving his arm off of her body for fear of any sudden movement might rouse his mysterious visitor from her slumber.

If one were to gaze down upon his seemingly sleeping visage, it would appear that all was right with the world. A peek into his mind at this very moment, would have shown otherwise. At that moment Satoru's thought would go something along the line of this:

 _'Shit! Shit! Fuck! Shit! Oh my God! What the hell?! Who?! How?! What?! Damn it! Shit! Fuck!'_ A string of curses, and profanity both at the situation and at himself.

This line of thinking continued as he laid there, unable to truly do anything. All the while Satoru tried desperately to calm himself down.

 _'Ok, ok. Calm down!'_ After nearly ten whole minutes of silently panicking within his own mind, Satoru had finally gathered his wit. Once he was no longer mindlessly panicking, Satoru sought to deal with the matter at hand. The first order of business was, of course, figuring who exactly it was that was in his bed.

 _'Alright, you can do this! Just stay calm and quiet and I won't wake her up.'_

Slowly and carefully his eyelids to open up, enough to allow Satoru to peek through. As he peered upon the sleeping beauty beside him, recognition hit him the force of a freight train. Satoru knew this woman laying with him.

For it was none other than his fellow co-worker from work.

"Kasumi-san?!" He hissed in surprise and shock.

While his voice was no longer than a whisper, it managed to stir the recently confirmed Kasumi. A small and groggy moan escaping her lips.

 _'Shit!'_ Satoru panicked.

He immediately shut his eyes and his body went rigid. Like a child believing that by closing their eyes and being completely still, that the problem would be overlooked. It seemingly worked as Kasumi rumbled a bit before quieting down, remaining sleep from what Satoru could tell despite having his eyes closed.

The salaryman let out a massive mental sigh of relief.

Now that the 'who' was answered, it brought up another more pressing question.

How and why was she here?

 _'Alright, come on! Think. Think! What exactly happened yesterday?'_ Satoru asked himself.

Momentarily pushing aside the matter with Kasumi, Satoru focused his mind on remembering what series of events could have led to this. As the morning grogginess dissipated, he slowly felt the memories of yesterday bubbling back up. Steadily, he recalled the series of events that led to this exact moment.

* * *

Within his office the sounds of rapid typing could be heard, Satoru's complete attention on his computer as his hand worked without rest. After ten minutes of intense typing, he stopped and leaned back. A grimace firmly on his face as he rubbed his eyes.

Satoru was tired, but that was rarely anything new at this point. Tearing his eyes from his computer, he looked at the ticking clock on the wall. It read 10:35 pm. Looking back at his computer screen, he couldn't help but sigh.

Pushing himself off of the chair he walked to the door, his hand resting on the doorknob. Taking a calming breath his face straightened into his signature poker face. The visage of a calm and collected superior. Once Satoru was fully prepared, he opened the door. Outside his office was where the rest of them worked, cubicles lining the middle. Hearing his office door opening several workers popped up from the top of their cubicle walls to see him.

Each and everyone that popped up held the same look in their eyes. A sense of fatigue rolling off of them, everything from their posture to their looks. Even with their indifference expression, it clears they each held a silent plea in their weary gaze.

It wasn't hard to understand why. It was "Death March" week for them, and for a whole week straight they endured hours of constant work that pushed their bodies and minds to the limit. Everyone was tired, physically and mentally and even a few looked ready to pass out. Satoru wasn't exempt from this, but he hid it better.

Fortunately for them they were at the literal home stretch. Well, almost everyone.

"Satoru-san…" A feminine drawled out.

Looking to the side of him was a female salaryman, her voice too reflecting her tired state.

She stood at roughly the same height as Satoru himself, dressed in form fitting office apparel just like everyone else. She short cut, jet black hair that parted to the side, covering her left eye. Her eyes were equally as dark, reflecting a spryness to her despite her tiredness. Satoru would describe her as a cool beauty with her lovely cheekbone, define features, and fair skin. Overall, he looked like a typically prim and proper office lady.

Her name was Kasumi, one of the workers under his management.

"Please tell me we're done." Kasumi all but begged.

He spared her with a nod before addressing everyone as a whole.

"It's getting late, everyone finishes up what you were doing, and you may leave." Satoru announced.

The mood of the office dramatically lightened up. They could finally go home. And while they didn't outwardly express it, Satoru could feel each worker was happy to finally be done with it all. None more so than Kasumi who let out a happy cry, even fist pumped the air in her excitement.

Satoru sparred her only a glance as Kasumi hurriedly rushed to her desk to finish and pack her bags, inwardly sighing at her behavior compared to her co-workers. Whom were silently and methodically doing the same. It couldn't be any clearer the difference between them and her.

Taking one last look at the leaving workers, Satoru turned around towards his office. Everyone else was done and ready to leave but not him, not just yet, unfortunately.

"Satoru-san, What'cha doing?" Kasumi called out to him.

Turning, he found her ready to leave with her purse hanging from her shoulder. A weary, but curious smile on her face as she looked at Satoru.

"You're not leaving with us?" She questioned.

"I have some more documents and reports I still to finish up before I can leave." Satoru informed.

"But I thought you said we were finally all done?" Kasumi immediately returned, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"It's merely some leftover work on my end. Pay it no mind. Take care Kasumi-san and have a nice day." Satoru politely informed and dismissed, bidding her farewell without sparing a second glance.

Her lips pressed together as Kasumi looked pensive for the moment. Kasumi looked to the others, slowly shambling out the doorway before glancing back at him. She said nothing before slowly walking away. Joining her fellow co-workers, whom heard Satoru just a moment ago, but were simply indifferent to his plight. But then again, he didn't exactly blame them.

Once he was finally alone Satoru relaxed, his poker face dropping to reveal and equally tired face. Taking a deep breath, he let out an exasperated sigh, his shoulders sagging all the while.

"Come on. The faster I can get this done, the faster I can finally go home to rest." Satoru said to himself, trying to look on the positive.

Satoru took a moment to look over the empty room, taking in everything. Two years has since passed since they've conquered the Tomb of Nazarick and so much has changed since then. Both within game and in Satoru's work life. He accepted the managing position and for the last two years he has done a decent job running his little department.

He was given an office that was a branch from his department, with only around fifteen workers under him. Small, but nevertheless important. Thus, Satoru has been doing his best to run his little department the best he could. So far, things have managed to work out.

Turning off all the lights Satoru headed back to his office, the only source of light was his computer screen. He glared at it, as if that would somehow make it all disappear from his sight. Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky.

Loosening his tie, and unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt, Satoru got comfortable for a long night ahead. It didn't take long before he lost himself in the work. He eyes glued solely to the screen as he was hyper focused on finishing all his reports. Time became a blur as he typed and typed away.

Despite his promotion and his wild imagination, not much changed in his day to day work routine. It was relatively the same when he was still a lowly salaryman but with a bit more responsibility and tasks added on. Unlike before where he answered to one or two superiors, Satoru now had to manage the data and working of those working under him as well as his bosses. Leading to a pile of tasks that he had to micromanage.

Satoru idly wondered if his old bosses were the way they were because of all the work they had to do similar to Satoru. If so, he could somewhat understand why they were the way they were. It was hard work, and often time it would lead to overwork on their part. Overwork was among the leading causes of stress.

At this Satoru couldn't help but let out a derisive snort at the thought. The bosses he once loathed for being too uncompromising and unfair during his long tenure as a lowly salaryman, he now found a shred of sympathy for.

The irony wasn't lost on him. Assuming, of course, he was even right in his assumption. It could also be easily explained that they just arsehole and were strict for the hell of it.

Satoru went with that explanation instead.

He continued working, his mind and body focused on the task at hand. Satoru was so focused on his work that he paid no mind to everything around him. Not even the sound of the door to his office opening alerted him.

He paused to rub his eyes, letting out another sigh. His eyes looked to the digital clock displayed on his computer as he mumbled to himself. His thoughts were wild and sporadic. Both focused on the task and trying to seek a reprieve.

 _'At the rate I'm going it'll be another hour and a half before I'll be done.'_

 _'I could use a drink.'_

 _'I wasted good ten-minute backtracking to double check the data for the first report.'_

 _'Uggh, why me?'_

 _'I still have several more documents to go through.'_

Satoru's mulling was interrupted by a sharp and sudden cold sensation from the back of his neck. He reacted instantly, his hand slapping the back of his neck to find it cold and wet.

"What the hell?!" Satoru couldn't help but exclaimed in complete surprise, whirling his chair around to find the perpetrator. Only for him to swallow his tongue when he realized just who else was in the office with him.

"Hehehe, got'ya!"

It was none other than Kasumi, standing there with a cackling smile. Satoru immediately noticed that she had a cold bottle in one hand and in her other hand, a plastic bag in one hand filled miscellaneous items.

Thankfully, Satoru recovered from his shock and controlled himself. With practiced ease, he slipped back on his professional work poker face and addressed her.

"That was not funny, Kasumi-san." He chided with a disproving glare.

"To you maybe, but not to me! Gotta say, it funny seeing you say that when you're so prim and proper all the time." The raven-haired salary woman crackled.

Outwardly Satoru simply glared at her childish behavior, but inwardly he felt embarrassed at his actions. Chastising himself for the moment of weakness. But moving past that, there was one question on his mind.

"What are you doing here, Kasumi-san?" He asked.

"Well, I figured with you staying I thought you might get thirsty, so I went to grab some drinks." Kasumi answered, lifting up the bottle and bag for emphasis. She then handed him the bottle.

"No, what I mean is why. Why exactly are you here?" He questioned again, specifying the question.

"Oh, well I thought you might need a hand so, yeah here I am!" Kasumi leisurely answered back.

Satoru's eyes widened at her reasoning. Rather than going home, she instead spent her time and money on buying drinks and traveling back to their office to do more even more work for him. Naturally, such a line of reasoning made little sense to Satoru yet at the same time, it made sense to what he knew of her.

He could still remember the first time Satoru meet her. It was when he was recently promoted, and she transferred over under his employ. The moment he laid eyes on her, Satoru knew that she was different from the rest.

The life of a salaryman was an arduous one, it was very common for entire floors and departments to have this sense of "emptiness" to them. Workers going through a routine, doing their job and nothing more. Rarely was there ever a time for socialization between one another, or any form of respite. Nothing but continuous work day in and day out. Managers uncaring of anything so long as productivity was being made. That was simply how things were.

Many broke under the harsh reality and condition of being a salaryman until they were nothing more than a simple cog in the machine. A slave to the corporation that they work for. Satoru was much the same and it didn't take long for him to break too in the beginning. That was simply the facts of life.

He could still remember the first time that he met his employees, those that would work under him. Eyes faded and dead to the world around them, no true motivation but to simply complete their work. Merely living their life day by agonizing day. Just like himself once upon a time.

All but Kasumi.

Kasumi was the antithesis to everything Satoru knew. She stood out from the very moment she stepped into his office. Her eyes were still brimming with energy, her expression animated and full of life. A bubbly personality to her demeanor. She was someone that epitomized the idiom of 'someone that wore their heart on their sleeves.' From the beginning, she stood out amongst the legions of zombies that were her co-workers.

Where many would keep to themselves, she would often try and start up conversations with her co-workers. Always ready to give others a helping hand with their work or if they were stuck. She was also incredible competent at her work and despite the hardship, she still always managed a smile at the end of each day.

It was an impossibility, no one like her could exist in such a ruthless and grueling environment and profession as theirs and yet day after day she remained. Never once losing her zeal.

As Satoru was reminiscing, Kasumi took the opportunity to look at his computer screen.

"Hmm, huh?" Kasumi let out, taking Satoru out of his musing. "You know, looking at them now, some of these reports can easily be done by one of us if you sent it our way."

Hearing her statement, Satoru understood exactly what she wanted to say. Essentially, why didn't he make one of the salarymen under his employ do the work for him?

His expression tightened and while his poker face didn't outwardly show it, it was clear that her suggestion irked him.

It was a rather common sight to see either senior workers, managers and superiors often time pawning off their work onto their subordinates. Adding even more work to their ever-growing pile of responsibilities.

Many managers in the past were either given their position, for one reason or another. Or they've worked up to it as Satoru did. But what separated him from the all the others were their work ethics.

Those given their position, of whom never truly worked or experienced the hardship the likes Satoru and so many others had to, abused their power and position. Seeing their workers as no more than underlining. A salaryman, and one of many to do their bidding. Then there were those lucky enough that worked their way up to it similar to himself. They allowed it to get to their head, turning into the very tormentor as they once served under.

He at the very least never once allowed the power and positioning to get to his head. Satoru remembered his roots, his hard beginnings and that kept him grounded.

In some ways, he still saw himself as a salaryman, one of them despite being in a higher and authoritative position. He knew the trial and tribulations that came from being a lowly worker. For he too was once a lowly salaryman trying to survive in such an unrelenting world. And that single fact was what made him different from so many others.

Satoru worked with them every step of the way rather than making them work just for him. They worked under him, thus he was just as responsible to them as they were to him. He wasn't like _them_.

"I could." Satoru agreed as he uncapped the drink she handled him and drank from it. "However, that wouldn't be fair for anyone if I dully out my work onto others, when I can do it myself. What kind of example would I be giving then? That's not the kind of person I am." He firmly stated, not only to her but to also himself.

Satoru took a moment to take a drink, secretly grateful that she brought along a few drinks to quench his thirst. During this she looked at him, her playful expression replaced with some more somber and appreciative.

"That you are…" Kasumi whispered to herself, quietly enough that Satoru missed it.

"While I do certainly appreciate the concern and kind gesture, there was no need for you to come, Kasumi-san."

"Oh, are you saying you don't want my help?" She pouted. "Even when I took the time out of _my_ night, to get you drinks and even miss _my_ ride home to help you. Are you just going to tell me no, and kick me out? Into the cold and dangerous night while I wait for my train ride home? Are you truly that cold, Satoru-san? Even though I came to help out of the kindness of my heart." Kasumi sniffed dramatically.

Satoru's mask remained neutral, but the slight twitch of his eyebrows says otherwise.

 _'Is she, guilt tripping me?'_ He thought incredulously.

She continued this for a few more seconds before opening one of her eyes to gauge Satoru's reaction. Seeing the deadpanned look he was giving she closed her eyes again and continued her fake sniffling. He suppressed a sigh but on the inside, he felt touched by Kasumi's action. To see her offer her aid when she could have easily gone on with her night, seeing as this was far from her problem. Satoru was a bit reluctant to say yes if only because of what he said earlier about splitting the workload. Then again, she was offering her aid rather than him dumping it onto her.

"Very well, let us finish this up so we can both leave."

"You forgot to say please." Kasumi quickly added, the corner of her lips twitching upwards into a concealed smile.

 _'This woman!'_ Satoru thought, trying to keep himself composed. This time he didn't bother holding back the sigh.

"Won't you please help me finish this so we can both leave." He reiterated.

"Since you asked so nicely, sure thing!" She quickly dropped the act and gave him a teasing smile. "Send some of them my way and we'll get this done in no time!" Setting down a few more drinks she walked out the door towards her desk.

Once he was sure she couldn't see him, he slouched in his chair and let out a massive sigh of exasperation that was building since the beginning. Despite her teasing Satoru felt no true ire towards her. If anything, Satoru took some enjoyment from it. He felt they were oddly refreshing compared to the usual deadness that came from the job.

It also didn't help that they reminded him of the kind of jokes and teasing those of his friends from Ainz Ooal Gown would make at times. Most noticeably, the kind Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino would make at his expense. Gave him a sense of familiarity.

Normally such a thing and behavior weren't tolerated in the work environment and would be snuffed out instantly, forced to conform to the standard. However, Satoru wasn't like that. He never truly called her out on it, nor tried to chastise or forced her to fix it. Thus, she continued on without any fear of repression. So long as she didn't affect work productivity, he saw no harm in it.

If anything, it was quite pleasant if only to break up the usual mundanity of the job.

If he was being truthful however, it was also because he didn't wish to do it, let alone had the guts to even try.

Life as a lowly salaryman broke him, and broke hundreds upon hundreds of others but not her. A mystery that he was no closer solving than before. Satoru could never live with himself if he were to even try and 'break' her as how he was broken. The thought alone was sickening to him.

Shaking away the dark thoughts, he got right back to work. For the next half an hour the two dived into it, the sound of rapid keyboard typing and occasional callout to one another to ask or inform the other on information pertaining to the documents. With the two of them working together, it was not long before they were finished with everything.

"And done." With one last click, the last report was sent. With that, Satoru was officially done with everything.

Powering everything down and collecting his stuff, he meets with Kasumi within the main room.

"Thank you for help." Satoru bowed and thanked her, truly grateful for her helping hand.

"No problem! Considering what you do for us, I say its only fair." Kasumi dismissed with an easy-going smile.

"Let's us be on our way then—"

"Say, Satoru-san you got any plans?" Kasumi interrupted, asking a question out of nowhere.

Hearing this Satoru couldn't help but blink at the sudden question.

The answer to her question was both yes and no.

Yes, in that after work; he did have free time. He rarely hung out or interact with, his fellow peers or employees. His social skill was still practically nonexistent, even after he earned his general managing position. Always preferring to head straight home after each workday and allowing his workers to do the same. No, in that the free time afforded to him was completely spent either time either sleeping in order to rest or in YGGDRASIL. Playing with his friends and enjoying the comfort of being with them.

Rather than answering with a simple yes or no, Satoru instead asked. "Why?"

"Well, we finished up our "Death March" so this calls for a celebration! What'd say we head out to celebrate? I know a **yokocho** that's opened throughout the night. Just the two of us." Kasumi suggested.

A yokocho roughly translates to mean alleyways off to the side of the main street. But that wasn't given Satoru pause. The term was often used to tell or describe a place known for small eatery, pubs, and bars within adjourned rows of one another. It was commonplace for both workers, businessmen and managers to hang out at, to unwind, relax, socialize and get drunk at yokocho.

More so, the managers that actually had the time and money to spend it there. And dragging any unfortunate underling and employee with them. Only this time it was the reverse for their situation, an employee was asking their superior out.

Perhaps it was Satoru overthinking the entire situation but hearing her offer and the last part of her sentences, his mind raced with a thousand thoughts and question. In the end, his mind came to one wild conclusion.

"Are you…asking me out?" Satoru slowly asked for confirmation after a few more seconds of silence.

His poker face firmly in place, revealing nothing of his true thoughts and intentions. The only sign of true emote on his poker face was the slight arching of his brow to hint at some form of curiosity at her proposition.

"Huh? Yeah, sure we can make it date." Kasumi casually accepted and answer.

"I see…" Satoru simply replied. Showing no real reaction or emotion to it.

Internally, however:

"OH MY GOD!" A chibi version of Momonga, complete with robe and all, clutched the sides of his skeletal face with his hands and screamed at the top of his nonexistent lungs. His exclamation reverberating within his head.

"Are you…serious." Satoru dumbly asked again, despite her clear intention.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Kasumi returned, an arch brow showing her confusion.

"I was just making sure…" He coughed, clearing his throat while looking to the side. Again, his true thoughts hidden behind his mask.

Internally:

"HOLY SHIT!" Chibi Momonga once again screamed, this time with him kneeling to the ground. His skeletal hands balled into fists and slammed against the imaginary floor. His skeletal visage displaying complete and utter shock.

As a salaryman, it wasn't uncommon for their managers or bosses to invite, or more correctly, coerced their employees on a night on the town so to speak. Anything from drinking the night away, to chatting and building a sense of comradery with one another, or in a botch attempt to pick up girls for the night. Whatever the case, it was a common practice that was founded to further the connection between salarymen and their employ.

The practice of this has been going on for over two centuries and was still going strong to this day.

Though in Satoru's opinion, it was nothing more than ego stroking.

Even Satoru was a victim to this when it came to the higher branch manager of his department. Forced to play along on some days, doing nothing but rubbing shoulders with his superiors. It was why Satoru never employ such practices with his workers as he understood the frustration behind it all.

Going back to the matter at hand, it would always be the bosses and managers to be the first to conduct it. Now, however, it was Kasumi that was inviting him. Despite never once showing hints towards it.

In typical Momonga/Satoru fashioned he started freaking out in his head despite the severity of the situation being far less than worse what he was imagining and overreacting to.

 _'A date?! Ahhh! Why did I have to open my mouth and say it was a date?! Stupid! Idiot! Dummy! Wait, wait, wait… What if it's just her playing around? Yeah, knowing her, her saying this is a date could be just one big prank! Kasumi-san is probably just messing with me! I'll just say no and we'll be both on our way! But…what if she wasn't kidding then?! I can't just say no! She'll probably want a good reason why no doubt she'll beginning grilling me. Ahhh…What do I do?!'_

During all of this, Satoru couldn't help but also feel completely embarrassed about being _embarrassed_ over something as minor as 'date.'

He was acting like a clueless teenager that just hit puberty and was asked out one day by a girl he happened to know. Contrary to the reality that he was an adult in his mid-twenties. The fact that he was fretting over something simple as this was indeed a blow to his pride. But then again, for a loner like him, social interaction was already like trying to scale a brick wall. Add onto the fact that it was with a woman he relatively knew little about and interacted on a semi-daily basis and it soon turned into a near insurmountable mountain. And like a shy teenager, he panicked.

It didn't take long before he fell back into his usual cynical mindset, his thoughts spiraled out of control and took a drastic turn as he began imagining worse case scenarios. Such as whatever reasoning he would give being unsatisfying, or Kasumi taking offense to it. Thus, causing a rift in their stable relationship at work that could lead to problems. Which could potentially lead to a crisis where not only work productivity but also his other employees, and maybe even himself could be affected by her scorn.

And down and down the spiral of negative thoughts went. Reason was promptly thrown out the window as his irrationality barged right on in.

Satoru lost track of time as he was basically arguing with himself. Left alone for nearly three whole minutes, Kasumi waited for his response, but none came. Her face slacked during this time and there was no hiding the slight disappointment in her expression.

She blew out a small, despondent sigh.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." She said, knocking him out of his self-imposed musing. "A simple no would work, instead of whatever you were thinking in your noggin." Kasumi joked, jabbed a finger at his head.

Kasumi smirked but it was clear even to Satoru that her words didn't meet her eyes, and her smile was a mere fraud.

"Considering we just went through hell, then yeah I can see why a night on the town would be the last thing on your mind. Heck, everyone probably back at home on their comfy little beds asleep right now. You're probably feeling tired as well, ay boss? And I'm keeping you from it. Forget about what I said. Sorry for the bother, Satoru-san." Kasumi apologized in soft tone and flashed an apologetic smile his way.

However, past her words and smile Satoru felt an underlying sadness. It wasn't simply the fact that she was rejected, but rather something more. It was almost as if she was dejected, but not at him but at herself. Kasumi turned away, her back concealing her true feelings.

By all means, Satoru should have been happy. Kasumi had called it off entirely, meaning he didn't have to worry of being the one to diffuse the situation. With that obstruction out of the way the salaryman had no more obligation and should be on his merry way.

He should be happy with the situation, and yet he wasn't.

For someone as expressive as her, it was all too easy for someone like Satoru to see past the mask of indifference.

At that moment she looked so…

A brief memory flashed before him, of himself sitting all by himself. All around him figures shrouded in darkness walked around him, ignoring him as they walked back. Satoru was all alone and from that isolation came one singular feeling; loneliness.

…lonely.

As if his body has a mind of its own, Satoru reached out and grabbed her shoulder, stopping Kasumi from going any further. She turned to look at him, clearly surprised by this and it wasn't just her but Satoru as well. It took him a split second to realize what he had done and let go of her shoulder.

"I never said no…" He found himself saying, surprised once more at his autonomous action.

Hearing this her eyes widened, and Satoru spied the faint glimmer of hope in her eyes. He swallowed a lump in his throat, it was too late to take back his words. He began sweating bullets, trying to settle the internal debate within his mind.

If Satoru was being brutally honest, he really wanted to say no to it all, yet he found himself being unable to.

Satoru gave her words some more thoughts and wondered if Kasumi had an ulterior motive for asking him out. However, he dismissed the notion. She was always a straightforward individual. That left the only conclusion being she asked him out because she wanted his company.

On one hand, he was flattered beyond belief. Extremely so. He held no illusion of his looks. Satoru knew his appearances were extremely average, everything from soft brown hair and eyes to his normal features. There wasn't anything noteworthy that could be attractive to the opposite sex but at the same time he was far from unappealable. It was most likely his low self-esteem talking, but he truly didn't think or believe anyone ever asked him on anything, let alone an outing or a date. His position notwithstanding.

This was quite literally uncharted territory for him, and he was reasonably afraid as he had no idea what to truly do let alone say. He held zero experience whatsoever in the field so he would be flying by the seat of his pants if he accepted. The potential embarrassment he could or would make on their date alone was enough to frighten him. Any of those reasons alone should have convinced him to deny her request.

But the memory of her disheartened face stopped him and stirred within him a sense of guilt.

At the same time, despite his clear apprehension, he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't the least bit curious about saying yes to her. A small nudging part of him urging him just to say yes. Go on a date with her, his very first ever date as a matter of fact. If only once just so he could say and know; he did do it. Try to have a little fun with their night out, the possibility of it ending in disaster be damned.

There was also the fact that Kasumi came back to help him which Satoru was grateful for. He owed her and felt he should be at the very least be obligated to repay back her kindness.

His rational side taking back over, arguing that they were both adults. If the night ended awkwardly or in a failure, then it wasn't the end of the world or anything too dramatic. They would resolve the matters as adults and moved on from there.

 _'It's not as if we're agreeing to be her boyfriend or anything.'_ A voice answered out of nowhere in his head. _'It's just a simple date. Worse comes to worst, at the end of it we'll just say it didn't work out and go at it from there.'_ Satoru's own conscious reasoned.

What finally tipped the scales of the argument was that Satoru remembered something at that moment. A conversation with his dear friend, Shirou.

 _"There's nothing wrong with waiting on the sidelines, but don't you think it'll be a lot more interesting being in it rather than watching it?"_

The exact nature of the conversation before and after were hazy but his words stayed with Satoru. The message was rather simple; act where one would have not done before. The old Satoru would have emphatically said no, but Satoru had changed through the years.

"I-I was just surprised. That is all…" Satoru coughed, hiding his own anxiety.

It was clear to both of them the response was extremely flimsy. Never the less, Satoru braved past the awkwardness. Satoru made his decision.

"A drink or two wouldn't be bad." Satoru accepted.

All was quiet for a moment as his words hung in the air. Satoru snuck a glance her way, trying to gauge her reaction. The salaryman was unprepared for what happened next. Her eyes instantly brightened, as a large smile breaking out across her face, true genuine joy gleaming from her expression.

Satoru felt his heart skip a beat at sheer happiness in her eyes and her delightful smile.

 _'Cute…'_ His mind couldn't help but note.

"That's the spirit!" Kasumi happily exclaimed, reaching over and reigning Satoru in. Her entire arm was resting on his shoulder as the two were practically hugging.

"Let's hit the road!" With a beaming smile, she practically dragged him with her as the two left the office. Satoru simply allowed her to lead the way as he followed behind.

From there the two traveled in relative silence, neither one particularly engaging in any form of small talk or anything. After about twenty minutes they finally arrived at the yokocho she mentioned. Navigating through the narrow passageway, the two salary workers arrived at pub. Thankfully the building that Kasumi took them to have their own ventilation system, thus the two could peel off their stuffy breathing mask and clothes as they entered.

In that time Satoru took in the restaurant. The pub was of moderate size, with most of the tables and seats along the walls. There bar counter took over half over the room, located in the back wall with a doorway to the kitchen behind it. The atmosphere within the pub was crisp, almost as if to invite in anyone for a quick, relaxing time. It was also fairly empty, with only the odd customer here and there, along with what seemed like the owner standing behind the counter. The elderly man merely glanced up at the duo while Kasumi gave him a smile and a wave.

"Say, want anything specific? Drinks, some appetizer or anything?" She quickly asked him.

"I'll just get what you're getting." Satoru answered. He had no idea what they even served at the restaurant, so he decided to play it safe and deferring to her judgment.

"Alright then, two regular cold beer and an order of chicken poppers!" Kasumi ordered, the owner only inclining his head slightly showing he heard.

As he got to making their order Kasumi dragged him off again to one of the more remote tables with a clear view of the bar. The two undressed any baggage clothes and relaxed against the soft cushion of the couch-like seat.

"What do you think?" She began, clearly referring to the restaurant.

"It seems…nice." He replied on first impression alone.

"I know right! I found this place on accident one day, and it was the best accident ever! Foods good, beers even better. It's a bit far away from where I live and work, but it's totally worth it! Especially when you can get a group or party together! Then you can have a real good time."

As Kasumi continued on, something caught his attention. From the sounds of it, she frequently visits but there was also another implication. Satoru didn't know whether it was just him simply over analyzing things again, but it sounded as if she frequents this place alone. Kasumi sounded almost wishful for company.

It didn't make much sense in his mind for someone as proactive as her to simply got out to eat or drink alone.

Satoru couldn't continue this train of thought as their order arrive. Two large ice cold glass mugs slammed on the table with Kasumi's order of fried chicken.

"Fast as always, that's why I love ya!" Kasumi thanked the owner. The owner gave a wordless groan of acknowledgment before walking away.

"Cheers!" Grabbing her mug, she raised it to the air.

Satoru grabbed his mug and raised it to hers. The two let out an audible clink before Kasumi began drinking her cold beverage. Satoru tentatively brought the cool alcohol to his lips and drank. The salaryman was pleasantly surprised by the taste and flavor. It was tasty but also refreshing, the cold alcohol spreading through his body, washing away all the fatigue and stress from work.

"That hit the spot!" She exclaimed with a pleasing moan. Her glass ¾ of what it once was. "Soooo, what do you think?" Kasumi asked him.

"It's really good."

"If you think that's good, try it with the fried chicken. You'll be blown away!" The salary woman excitedly urged, grabbing one of the bit size fried chicken and dipping it with the sauce. She tossed it in her mouth and excitedly chewed it down. Accompany by another swig of her cold beer.

Satoru followed along, grabbing a piece of chicken and eating it with a sip of his drink. Kasumi was proven right against as the flavor and taste of the combination exploded in his mouth. Enough to where it was visible on his poker face.

"Told ya." Kasumi chuckled.

From there conversation quickly died down as the two sat there and did, well nothing really. It didn't take long before an awkward silence permeated the booth as neither one of them talked or even do anything. Time stretched, one minute becoming two, then three and so on. Five minutes quickly passed, and in that time, nothing changed or happen, the two keeping to themselves while occasionally taking sips from the mugs.

What Satoru had come to fear pass as he had no idea what to say or do at the moment. Then again, he expected this to happen regardless. The two of them only interacted when it was necessary during work time and rarely little else. Leaving no real room for one another to get to know the other better. Internally Satoru began to panic, trying to think of something to fill the awkward atmosphere.

"You're bad at this, aren't you?" Kasumi said suddenly, snapping him back to reality. She was looking at him, her body slouched with one hand on the table propping up her head and the other holding onto her glass mug which was more than half empty. Unlike him, she looked fairly relaxed where Satoru still had on his poker face and was rather tensed at the moment.

Satoru looked at her, noticing a faint tinge of red across her cheek. It would seem the alcohol was slowly taking effect though she still looks sober enough. She held an almost resigned look, as if she was expecting this to happen.

"Then again, who am I to talk."

She continued before Satoru could have responded.

"Say, Satoru-san. How long have we been working with one another?" She questioned him.

"Almost a year and a half now." He gave after quick calculation in his head.

"A year and a half huh? Time sure flies doesn't it, Satoru-san? Ahahaha…" She let out a small chuckle. It would seem that the alcohol was starting to loosen her lips.

"We've known and worked with one another for that long, and isn't it funny how in that time nothing has happen? Hell, we're practically strangers if you kind of think about it. Don't you think that's a bit screwy?" Kasumi pointed out, chuckling again in a subdued manner.

"We really need to start changing up things in the office. It's so serious and boring all the time." Kasumi lamented. "Especially you! Always looking so serious every single second. All that seriousness is going to get wrinkles on your forehead before you know it. Try and learn how to smile some more. Come on, try it." The conversation soon turned to be about him. Kasumi took her fingers and pressed them against the edges of her mouth. Pressing them up to try and form a smile.

At this point, Satoru was unsure of the flow of the conversation. It seemed as if she was speaking for the sake of it. In an attempt to continue, he answered one of her points.

"The workplace is a place of business."

"Then how come I'm still working with ya?" Kasumi immediately countered, taking another drink of her beer.

At that, Satoru held his tongue for he knew exactly what she meant.

"You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were just going to be another annoying prick with a stick up your ass. I expected to get chew out my first day, so imagine my surprise when that didn't happen. As I continued working under you, I saw that you weren't like the rest. If one of us messes up you don't scream at us or anything, heck you'll even take the time to correct our mistake. You never give out your share of work and make us do your work for you. You don't set unreasonable work and deadlines on us. You're always treating us fairly and whatnot. What I'm trying to say is…you're a good boss, the best boss I've ever had is what I'm trying to say." Kasumi praised.

Just as Satoru thought he nailed down the flow of the conversation, she threw then threw a curveball at him.

"But I gotta ask this…do you have to be so cold about it?" She questioned him, looking at Satoru straight in the eye.

…Cold?

Satoru focused on that word. She described working under him as cold. Of all the words to say, she used that word despite just praising him a moment ago.

"W-what do you mean?" He immediately questioned.

"Well…" Kasumi scratched her head, her hair becoming a bit disheveled as she lingered, trying to find the right words to answer him.

"It just feels cold, ya know? At least with my previous boss, when they chew me out for all kinds of crap like my attitude, messing up or whatever. With that, I can understand them a bit better, but for you, it's like you're always wearing this mask. I can barely even tell what you're thinking or feeling sometimes. Hell, I barely ever see you even blink."

Satoru body went stiff at assumption and how unknowingly close to the truth it was. If Kasumi noticed this, she didn't show it, continuing on with her conversation.

"Yeah, you look like a stone cold boss, but you showed with your action and help that you cared but it always feels like you care more about the **work** being done than about **us**. It's always so formal and cut-and-dry with you about everything. Sure, you're always making sure everything running smoothly and looking out for us but that's about it. So long as it didn't mess up with the workflow. I still think you're a good boss, but it feels…cold how you do things ya' know. It's like you don't even care or bother with us outside of work." Kasumi reiterated both points, both the good and the bad.

Kasumi went to take a drink of her beer all the while Satoru contemplated her words.

When Satoru accepted his promotion, he had no idea how to go about it. At the time his leading experience was very minuscule and while in YGGDRASIL he showed aptitude as a decent Guild Master that didn't translate into real life leadership. In the end, Satoru went with what he knew best. He adopted this persona of professional and don his mask that his signature inscrutable poker face. He reasoned that similar to how he roleplayed as Momonga within YGGDRASIL. All to play a role; to be a supervisor.

His goal was to work together like a well-oiled machine. For that, he intended for a mutual and professional relationship between employees and superiors. He would be fair and reasonable and much as he could, so long as it didn't interrupt with work productivity.

Satoru came to a small epiphany that she was right. He treated them almost as if they were like cogs in a machine. He worried about them not that didn't necessarily mean he cared about them. Beyond work, he didn't necessary cared about any of them as a whole. Kasumi was a primary example, despite her attitude and demeanor in the workplace, he was tolerant of it as she was very good at her job. If it had been the opposite, then things would have been different. But outside of work, at the end of the day when everyone went their separate ways, Satoru found himself uncaring about their personal life and struggles.

All of her points, they stemmed from one fact.

The shit reality Satoru called the real world, he didn't consider that his life. YGGDRASIL was.

Working, it was all a formality. To make enough money so that he could continue living and sustained himself all the while he poured all his available free time to YGGDRASIL. His guildmates were what truly matters in his life, it was they whom he gave a damn about and no one else. Every day after work he would leave immediately and spend all his time in YGGDRASIL. For they were his friends, his 'family'.

Kasumi was right, there was a cold formality to their relationship. In spite of his goodwill, the relationship between the two was clear cut. Kasumi and the rest were workers, and Satoru was their superior. Nothing more and nothing less. And there was never really a reason to challenge or change the status quo of it all. Those under his management couldn't care less about Satoru and his life, and in turn, he was much the same.

Each and everyone knew exactly why they were working there, to make a living. Such a notion as comradery in the workplace and between workers was a pointless query. A fundamental notion that Satoru unconsciously believed in and reinforced himself even if he didn't know it until now.

Indifference towards one fellow man.

That was the reality of their world. A twisted reality but the truth of the world nevertheless.

Satoru was unsure how to feel about this. On one hand, he understood where she was coming from but another part of him was thinking, 'so what?' That was how things were, and it wasn't like he was in a position to try and change it all. However, those words rang hollow in his ears. That would mean he had already given up and accepted everything lying down in a manner of speaking.

A sense of shame pooled in his stomach. Hearing Kasumi lay it all out, he realized just how cold and methodical he has been throughout the year.

"I'm…sorry…" His words rang hollow, for what else could he possibly even say.

"It's fine." Kasumi lazily dismissed with a wave of her hand. "It's not like I blame you or anything, Satoru-san. You're just doing your job is all, and as I said earlier you're still the best boss I've ever had. But it's nice to hear and see you aware of all of this." She gave him a wink and a smile.

"Now if only the others could take a lesson from you and be a bit more receptive, that'll be nice." She commented offhandedly and one that gave Satoru pause.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what I mean?"

"No, it just that what you said. I thought…"

"That me and everyone else in the office were buddy-buddy or something like that?" Kasumi guessed which she got right from the small nod of confirmation from Satoru.

She let out a snort, her face crinkling with drunken amusement. "Please, everyone else in the damn office is wet-blanket, kind of like what I thought you would be. You probably don't know this but the others kind of hate me because I'm always trying to talk to them or trying to get to know them better. Hell, you and me talking right here and now. This's the most interaction I've had with someone from work since I've started working. You're the first one that's ever taken me up on my offer, Satoru-san." Her voice tinged with melancholy at the end when she admitted this.

"So, thank you. I really appreciate you at the very least doing this for me. And…" A red blush bloomed across her face for what she would try to say next. "…I was wondering…if…we could, you know…maybe be friends or something like that…It would be nice to have someone to talk to from time to time…"

At that moment, Kasumi revealed another side to her. Behind her usual upbeat personality, she was still human. A woman with whims and desires of her own. Kasumi's words, to Satoru they almost sounded like a plea.

A plea for comradery.

They were but two ordinary people, trying to make their way in the world. Perhaps, this was a way of Kasumi reaching out. For no one has ever bothered reaching back and now, her search has finally led her to Satoru.

A sensation tugged at Satoru, a sense of déjà vu taking over as he reminisced on that faithful day oh so long ago. The day where he first met Shirou, his friend and the man that changed his life from then on. He saved him, and despite the odd first meeting, Satoru took a leap of faith and asked Shirou if they could be friends. If only because he was clueless at the time.

But as time went on, their relationship grew, from distant acquaintance to becoming true friends. Evolving as the years passed on by, and not just with Shirou but everyone else within Ainz Ooal Gown. For never in his bleak life would he thought he would be fortunate enough to meet and befriend such amazing people. And it all stemmed from one decision that changed his life forever.

Just as how his friend helped him, fate has allowed Satoru an opportunity to help someone else.

Question was, would Satoru take it?

Time ticked on by as Kasumi waited, and waited and with each passing second her confidence in herself diminished. The small, and fatalistic part of her feeding pessimistic thoughts that she was coming off too strongly and suddenly. Just as she opened her mouth to retract her words Satoru began.

"I cannot promise for certain that I can or will be there for you, but I that doesn't mean I won't try to be there when I can. Will that be fine." Satoru answered, despite the hesitation he still gave his word.

Satoru wasn't too sure how she would have reacted, however, he never expected her to start tearing up. Tears began forming from her eyes as the salaryman panicked, wondering if he did something wrong. Kasumi began rubbing away the budding tears with a small, grateful on her face.

She said nothing more and looked at Satoru. And then, she smiled. Kasumi's eyes closed as she let out a megawatt smile. The biggest smile she has ever made, radiating pure innocent joy. She looked truly happy at that moment.

Satoru felt his heart skip a beat again. Perhaps it was the lightening of the bar, or maybe even the alcohol starting to take a hold of him. But at that moment, she looked absolutely radiant to him. His hand reached up to cover his lower face. He could even feel a bit of heat coming off of his cheeks, no doubt reddened similar to Kasumi.

"So, friends?" She asked.

"Friends." He confirmed.

"Oh pops! Another round for us!" She called out to the bar owner. She quickly finished her remaining beer before flashing Satoru with a happy grin. It didn't take long before she was back to her usual bubbly self.

Satoru wanted to object as his glass was only half empty, but he let it go for the moment, for her.

"I guess the first order of business is to actually get to know one another better and there's no better time than the present! I've certainly talked your ears off. Now, the floor is all yours, so go ahead. Ask me anything!"

"Anything?"

"Yup, anything. Don't worry, I won't kiss and tell~" Kasumi gave him what could be passed as a seductive grin as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Satoru resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her suggestive phrasing. That sounded like something like Peroroncino would say and tease him about. However, this also presented him with the perfect opportunity to ask her what he has been wondering for a long time now. In that time the owner dropped by with two fresh mugs of cold beer, which Kasumi happily drank from.

"Kasumi-san, I…Well, there's this thing I've been wondering…how…umm, hmmm…" Satoru fumbled a bit, trying to find the right way to word it. The issue was trying to word it correctly without it coming off as awkward and disjointed.

"Out with it, don't worry. I can take it!" She urged.

Taking a calming breath Satoru finally asked his question.

"How are you always so cheerful all the time. Every day, you seem to always have a smile on your face no matter what, even after a grueling workday. How do you do it?"

"Jumping straight into it, huh? Then again I figured that would have been your first choice." Kasumi fixed him with a knowing look.

"Let me ask you something first Satoru-san. Tell me, does frowning do anything? Like does being all sad and mopey somehow magically make our workload smaller, or makes the world any less shit?" She answered his questions with questions of her own.

Satoru blinked, confused about what exactly she was getting at. Still, he answered her non-sequitur question nevertheless.

"Well, no."

"Exactly!" She snapped her fingers and pointed at him. She stopped to take a sip of her beer, after which she was meet with Satoru's confused gaze.

"What I'm trying to say is this. The world's already a shit place, being all negative and gloomy isn't going to make anything different."

"And you think smiling and being more positive is better?" He asked.

"Anyone can get depressed, smiling on the hand at the very least takes some effort." Came her immediate response.

At that, even Satoru willingly conceded to her point. It was just so suffocating, their society that is. It slowly squeezed the life out of all of them, until they were nothing more than husks. No one bothered, let alone tried to do anything as it was pointless. But not for her, it would seem that wasn't a good enough excuse.

However, that begged the question. What exactly was driving her to continue on her path? To always move forward with her life with a smile.

"Seriously, seeing those kinds of faces in people everywhere I go, I feel like I'm in a goddamn zombie apocalypse or something." Her faced scrunched with an exaggerated apathetic look to illustrate her point.

"Doesn't it ever tiring?" Said Satoru.

"I would be lying to say if it didn't, but still just because things get rough that doesn't mean its time to call it quits. I guess a part of why I'm so positive, I owe it to my parents. It's thanks to them that I'm such a bundle of sunshine." Kasumi revealed, an almost wistful smile appearing. One that Satoru mistook for a moment of grieving.

"I see, my condolence to you and your parents."

"Huh, what the heck are you talking about Satoru-san. My parents aren't dead." She looked at him as if he was crazy.

For a moment his mask slipped as he realized the mistake he made.

"I'm so sorry! I just assumed…my deepest apologies Kasumi-san!" Satoru immediately bowed as much as he could while sitting, embarrassed at himself for the faux pas he made.

Underneath the embarrassment, there was no denying the undercurrent of curiosity pouring from Satoru. Due to the taxing nature of their society it was rather common for the weak and elderly to meet their end relatively early. Hence was the case with Satoru and his mother, who was only about in her mid-thirties when she died.

"It's fine." Kasumi dismissed. "I can kind of see why you would think that, considering everyone else…" She muttered the last part, the unmistakable glint of pity in her gaze.

"You see, apparently before the world really took a nosedive, my great-great-great-great-great grandfather or another apparently decided to repossess everything he owned and sold it. I heard supposedly that he got a premonition or something crazy about the world going down under, so he prepared. He must have made a lot of money as our family has slowly been using that money over the years in between their own jobs to support us. We're by no means rich, but we're certainly more well off compared to others where my mother and father never had to break their back like others.

That gave them some free time to raise me over the years. They were always there for me, and in a way, they were my heroes. My mother especially, father said I was just like her when she was younger." Kasumi disclosed, about her personality and her history.

Hearing her story Satoru couldn't help but drew parallels with Touch Me and what he knew of his guildmate and friend. Not only were both her parents still alive but for all intents and purposes, she had an honest childhood growing up. Because of that, their outlook on life and attitude were completely different compared to Satoru's own. All because she had a family growing up.

He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of her and her situation. It was unfair and unreasonable, but it was present nevertheless.

"How…fortunate of you." Satoru replied, formal and tensely, hoping that none of his true thoughts leaked through his poker face.

"Yeah, I really am.

The once ambient mood soured after that, the two lulled back into their own personal silence. However, Kasumi wouldn't be deterred so easily.

"Satoru-san." She called out.

Hearing his name, he hesitantly looked back at her. There, she pressed her fingers against her cheeks, against the edge of her lips to make it seem like she was smiling.

"Try smiling." She suggested, letting go of her fingers to throw an encouraging smile his way.

Satoru weighed the pros and cons of agreeing or deny her request. A part of him wanted to say no as he felt he would just embarrass himself. However, in the face of such overwhelming encouragement, his defense whittled down and he silently agreed. Besides, it was just one, he reasoned.

"Ok…" Taking a deep breath, Satoru prepared himself and smiled.

For the first time since this night, Satoru actually emoted. His lips curved up into a smile, but it was clear that it was a bit forced. Deep in his head, Satoru knew that the smile he was making was rather poor. If only because he never had a real reason to ever smile so it was very stiff and amateurish. Apparently, Kasumi agreed as she openly chuckled, more at the smile and situation than directly at Satoru.

"We'll work on it." She commented in between laughs.

Satoru dropped it immediately, his cheeks growing redder from Kasumi's reaction. As her laughter died down, she beamed a beamed an earnest smile his way.

"Satoru-san, everyone has their own reasoning for smile. One day, once you finally found that reason to smile, never let it go no matter what." She instructed.

"Then what is your reason, Kasumi-san? Why do you continue to smile in spite of everything?" He muttered out uncertainly.

"Why?" Kasumi simply shrugged. "I guess because I can. Yeah sure, I haven't been able to make anyone else smile but that isn't reason enough to stop. Mother always said the world could use one or two more smiles to help brighten things up. Kind of like what I'm doing with you Satoru-san. So, do I really need any reason to try and make people smile?" She answered back with a melancholic but wholesome smile.

For a moment his mask cracked, Satoru's eyes widened as her words struck a chord with him. They sounded so similar to Shirou's and Touch Me's own. To them they needed no reason to help someone in need and for Kasumi, she was very much the same way. It wasn't just their upbringing, but a matter of themselves. Those that wanted nothing more than to help simply for the sake of helping, to do something, anything to try and make the world a little bit brighter.

It was admirable, beyond admirable Satoru would say. Even in the face of an overwhelming challenge she still managed to find a way to smile and to spread that happiness. For no other reason than she could in the chance she might be able to make another smile and appreciative. No matter how inconsequential it may be.

And then, there was Satoru himself.

From there Satoru retreated back into silence as he mulls over her words and everything, they've spoken up to till now. During this, Kasumi checked the time to see that a little over half an hour has since passed. She glanced over to see that he was still on his first mug and haven't even touched the second one yet while she was still working on her second one. Satoru's face set in a contemplative look.

Considering it was their first outing, it was only natural that they weren't used to one another's company where they were comfortable with each other. Not yet anyway. Nevertheless, she was beyond appreciative of him and his willingness to go along with her.

 _'I've probably kept him here long enough.'_ Kasumi thought.

"You can head out now if you want, Satoru-san. I'll probably stay a bit to relax and enjoy myself. Still thanks again for at least hanging out—" Kasumi never got to finished as Satoru once again surprised her yet again with his next decision.

"Excuse me, another order of chicken popper please!" He ordered.

Kasumi looked back at him, confusion clear in her eyes. Nothing changed per-say as Satoru still maintained his poker face, but she couldn't but sense something was different about him. There was a sense of determinedness to him.

She was doing all of this for him, the least he could do was try and meet her halfway. As he reasoned within his head.

Catching the confused look on her face, Satoru had this to say.

"I did agree to come along with you, and it would be a waste of money and beer if I left now and have you foot the entire bit. I guess I can enjoy myself a little bit longer. Not unless you want to leave as well." Satoru giving her a small, lopsided grin.

Kasumi obviously didn't expect to see such a change in Satoru, and so quickly in fact. However, no one was going to hear her complain as a great, big grin broke out on her face.

"That's the spirit! Make that another round pop, we're getting this party started right! Let's drink till we drop!" Kasumi ordered with newfound zeal.

"Oi, we're not going to go that far! I said a drink or two was fine." Satoru immediately rebuked.

"Lighten up! It's not like we've got work tomorrow or anything. So, let's drink the night away!" Kasumi cheered, playfully ignoring Satoru's concern.

She clinked her glass with his and began downing her drink. Satoru couldn't help but shake his head and blew out a small sight at her Kasumi's antics. Yet, there was denying the small smile on his face. He made his bed, so it was time for him to lay on it. And so, the two budding workers enjoyed the night away.

* * *

From there the rest of his memories remained hazy with only the occasional flashes of what happened that night. Satoru couldn't remember the exact nature of what they did or talked about from then on, and in some way, he was grateful for that. The alcohol promptly took hold and the two were positively drunk. He had no doubt in his mind that it was an awkward experience and he was in no rush to remember it all.

From there it was anyone's guess what happened but seeing as the two of them somehow ended in his home, on his bed, and naked as the day they were born. It wasn't too difficult to guess that they had a run in the hay.

 _'I'm never drinking, ever again!'_ Satoru vowed once he remembered enough of what happened last night. He was completely embarrassed, both at the fact that he managed to lose himself and got completely hammered when before he could somewhat hold his alcohol. Along with being completely mortified at the fact that their night of leisurely drinking somehow spiral into him sleeping with Kasumi.

Some small part of him was saying that he was most definitely blowing this out of proportion. It was an unintended accident from a one night stand. It wasn't as uncommon as he was fretting about and most likely just him blowing everything out of proportion. However, that did nothing to alleviate the pressing anxiety he was experiencing.

It was the beginning of a promising relationship between the two, only for him to jump the gun so horribly that it wasn't even funny. He had potentially ruined it all with his carelessness.

And in times of crisis, he defaulted back to his usual habits. Thinking on the words of his friends, and how they would handle the situation. Trying to find some measure of light within the situation.

"If there's someone in trouble, then its only right to help them!" The voice of Touch Me rang in his head. Sound and sensible advice, though that was more general than useful at this very moment for Satoru. Plus, he could make an argument that it was that thinking that sort of led him into this exact situation in the first place.

"You're on the road to true adulthood! So, kick back, relax and enjoy it for as long as you can!" Peroroncino advised, but unlike Touch Me's it was hardly helpful and more seem to be to try and enjoy the moment. Which Satoru was most definitely not enjoying.

"You started it, that means you have to finish it. So, man up and take responsibility for your actions. Never make a woman cry! No what it is! And if you do, then fix it immediately. Or else!" The distinct voice of Bukubukuchagama advised. Although it sounded more like a threat than anything else to the fearful salaryman.

Satoru came to the sad conclusion that he was completely on his own. He had to face the facts. They slept with one another, be it on purpose or on accident. That was an irrevocable fact.

The question now became what to do next. For that was his main concern, he no earthly idea what to do in such a situation.

Satoru has always been a loner, an introvert. His IRL social skill was shit, doubly so when it came to women.

It was why he choose to indulge in video games over everything.

For as long as he could remember Satoru believed he was doomed to become a real life wizard!

In other words; a thirty year old virgin!

And yet, through some mysterious twist of fate here he was lying on his own bed with a beautiful woman in his arms. He couldn't tell if that was good or bad luck at hand.

Satoru paused at that, running the thought in his head again.

 _'Beautiful…'_ He repeated the word, surprised at himself that he was willing to admit that of her.

His eyes slowed opened once more, this time his gaze lingered on her. Satoru eye's traced over Kasumi, taking everything in. Her unblemished skin was smooth and gentle to the touch, her delicate body and modest frame cuddled beside him, her soft neck and succulent full lips. She was completely tranquil in his arms as she slept without a care in the world.

At that moment Satoru agreed, she was indeed beautiful.

Suddenly, Satoru felt a sensation. One emanating from between his leg. It took a nanosecond for the salaryman to realize that his body reacted accordingly.

 _'Down! I said down!'_ He embarrassingly reprimanded himself, his face heating up in mortification.

As a consequence of that train of thought, flashes of their nocturnal activities rushed back to him in bits and pieces. Still, there was enough details that Satoru could recollect from their fun under the sheets. Which only further mortified him as remembered exactly just how 'active' the two of them were last night.

It was almost enough for Satoru to wish he was dead right about now. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about the fallout.

 _'Ok, calm down! None of that matters right now. What really matters is that Kasumi-san is on my bed and naked.'_ That thought brought another fierce blush to his face, but Satoru fought it down. _'I need to do something before she wakes up!'_

For that was the second issue, Satoru was downright terrified about how Kasumi would react when he wakes up, naked and in on another's bed and home. Which only fueled his desire to do something about it. He came up with a plan, being that he would carefully and quietly remove him from the bed and his room. That way, it would be far less incriminating and awkward was she to wake up and see him with her.

Unfortunately for him, lady luck wasn't on his side this time. For in the time that Satoru was spent lamenting his situation and trying to recollect what happened Kasumi slowly stirred from her slumber. At this point, she was fully awake and cognitive, and much like Satoru recognized the situation they were both in. She too kept her eyes closed and feigned sleep as she tried to figure out what to do next.

 _'Ok. Just think, I'm in my bosses' bed, naked…Aghhh! It's too early in the morning to deal with this shit! Alright, alright, calm down. First things first, I need to get out of Satoru's bed and quickly. The last thing I need is for him to wake up and find me in my birthday suit first thing in the morning.'_

Kasumi's thoughts were far more subdued compared to Satoru's fanatic musing and came to the same idea as his. Unknowingly the two sprang their plans simultaneously.

 _"Alright, if I'm fast enough then I might be able to get out of bed without waking her…'_

 _'I'll grab some clothes once I'm off the bed, last thing I want him to be streaking around his house naked….'_

 _'From there, I'll wait for her to wake up…'_

 _'And to think of an explanation from there…'_

 _'On a count of three!'_

 _'One…'_ Kasumi began.

 _'Two…'_ Satoru counted.

' _Three!'_ The two reached in unison.

Satoru and Kasumi opened their eyes simultaneously, ready to spring into action. Only to come face to face with one another, completely awake at that. For several seconds the pair were deathly still and silent like deer's in a headlight.

"Uhhhh…hi?" Kasumi broke the dead silence the only way she knew how.

This time, Satoru reacted appropriately. With a less than manly cry he instantly stood up, trying to back away from Kasumi. Unfortunately for Satoru he slept close the bed's edge and fell off. Himself stumbling with the blanket being caught on him as he fell. Thus, leading Kasumi with nothing to cover herself as she sat standing there on his bed.

Satoru scrambled to get rid of the blanket suffocating him, leading to the two of them made eye contact again. This time the pair were unabashedly taking in the other's naked body. Kasumi looking down at Satrou's sprawled form. While Satoru couldn't help but focus on her modest breasts and lovely nether region.

Satoru's face quickly grew beet red as he began choking on air yet didn't try to avert his gaze from her naked form. Whether because he was so shocked that he didn't turn away or because he was fixated on her body he couldn't really say. Kasumi wasn't left out of this but hid it better, namely falling back on her usual antics to hide any embarrassment. And that was to make a joke at someone else's expense.

"Well, I see someone's awake and raring to go. Make that _two_ of you…"

It took a moment before Satoru realized what she meant. Following her eyes, Satoru found his mini-Satoru was standing firmly at attention for all to see.

Satoru took back what he said earlier. Forget about dying, he wished a black hole would open right then and there and suck in him. He didn't want to _exist_ anymore, not with the mortification that came with it.

* * *

All was silent within Satoru's kitchenette. After the horrible debacle that was them waking up, things have managed to settle down. Nothing but the soft sounds of his coffee maker running, preparing its dark liquid nectar for the occupants filled the silence. Satoru and Kasumi were also waiting in the kitchen.

Satoru was dressed in a plain shirt and shorts, the best he could have at the moment. He was currently anxiously looking through his pantry, doing his best to keep himself occupied. A faint red blush permeant on his face as a result of what happened earlier.

Kasumi sat silently at his kitchen table, due to the situation she was forced to dress in his spare clothes while her clothes were being cleaned. She wore one of his shirts that was easily larger than her as it clung loosely to her body and a pair of shorts. Her attention focused on wall as she leisurely twirled her hair with her finger. Unlike earlier Kasumi managed to collect herself, but it was clear by her pensive that her mind was elsewhere for the moment.

This silence persisted as neither one of them wished, let alone knew, what exactly to say going forth. Thus, the awkwardness between them persisted within the silence. And so, they choose to keep to themselves and not meet the other gaze. That didn't stop them from occasionally sneaking skittish glances towards one another only to immediately turn away once they felt the other's eyes on them.

This game of back and forth continued until the sudden and sharp whistle of the coffee maker finishing startled them both. More so Satoru who was completely taut since the morning. He jumped at the sound, accidentally slamming his elbow against the counter, hard.

"Oww!" Satoru whimpered, clutching his stinging elbow as the feeling of numbness spread through his arm.

"Are you alright?" Kasumi called out.

"I-I'm fine…" He answered back, and the two made eye contact only for Satoru to avert his gaze entirely. He diverted his attention solely on the coffee just so he didn't have to look at Kasumi.

Kasumi watched him, her eyes focused as she was trying to solve the puzzle that was Satoru. For that was the reason for her silence, her confusion regarding this whole issue.

When Kasumi first awoke and came to the realization that they slept with one another she was rightfully afraid. More so about future moving forward than about herself.

Just yesterday she had a heart-to-heart discussion with her own boss, and in a leap of faith opened up and reached out to him. And to her surprise, he reciprocated. The joy she felt was immeasurable and for the first time in a long while things were finally looking up. Only to then come face to face with the crushing reality that they got drunk and it spiraled into them sleeping with one another. And with the incident, accident or otherwise, jeopardizing everything from their relationship and the budding friendship she so desperately wished for.

Kasumi was quite fearful as she had no idea just exactly how Satoru would have reacted in such a situation. She would like to think that he wouldn't react too extremely to the whole event as she always saw how professional he was, but she couldn't be too sure. That was what made her afraid, she didn't know. All Kasumi could do was hope for the best and prepared herself for the worst. As she tried to figure out how to exactly handle the situation in hopes of salvaging the situation.

But nothing could have prepared her for what really happened this morning.

She expected a stern reprimand and potentially even getting chewed out. Or maybe even a flash of anger. All manner of possible reactions, however, it never came to pass and instead, she was meet with a completely embarrassed Satoru. The Satoru Kasumi knew as her boss and from work, and the one she was currently watching, they had the same face, but their entire demeanor and attitude were the complete and total opposite that Kasumi couldn't help but find it all so jarring.

Satoru's emotions were as clear as day on his skittish face. Compared to the often-blank stares he would have during work. Here, he kept avoiding her gaze, and he was so fidgety that he was practically shaking the entire time. It was strange, to say the least, to see someone she always thought as impassive be so bashful. Where before she could barely get a read on him, now it was all too easy. It was an odd sight to see, but not necessarily an unwelcome one. It only made Satoru more 'human' then what she thought of him.

Of course, that brought up the question. Just who exactly was the real Satoru. The one she knew as her boss, or the man in front of her.

"K-kasumi-san…" Satoru stuttered out, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Would you like any cream or sugar?"

"Two scoops of sugar, and no cream please." Kasumi answered back and watched as he poured the cups of coffee for them.

"H-here you go…" He set her coffee in front of her, his eyes failing to look straight at her. With that done, he walked over and sat on the opposite side of the table, right in front of Kasumi.

The two were soon drowned in silence once more. Satoru looked down at his coffee to avoid her gaze, while Kasumi was looking directly at him. However, their minds were far from idle as Kasumi was still trying to figure Satoru out.

Based on what she knew and observed of Satoru it would be highly likely that the version she always sees at work was nothing more than a façade and that skittish version in front of her was his true self so to speak. The only way for Kasumi to truly know was for her to ask him, which she immediately did. Subtly was never really her forte.

"So, is this how you really are outside of work or what?" Kasumi bluntly questioned.

In hindsight she probably shouldn't have asked her question as Satoru was drinking his coffee for, he immediately began choking on it. His eyes widened, almost as they were about to bulge out of their sockets. Kasumi stood up to go over to help him only for the salaryman to hold up his arm to say he was fine. Beating his chest, he managed to get it all under control.

His eyes darted to her for a moment before turned away. His face twisted as a myriad of emotions crossed his face. From surprise, fear, and doubt. Satoru wet his lips, a look of indecision crossed his gaze as he was muttering to himself. A great debate was going on inside his head. Two more minutes passed before he finally reached a consensus with himself.

"Kasumi-san…" His voice was wary, but he continued on. "Can I trust you…?"

For the first time since this morning, he dared to look straight at her. There was so much fear and indecision in his gaze it almost hurt to look at. Satoru looked so vulnerable that even she couldn't help but feel for him. Yet, Kasumi could also make out the faint presence of determination in them. Whatever it was that Satoru wanted to say, he was clearly didn't wish to reveal it yet choose to regardless of his fears.

Much like with yesterday where Kasumi reached out to him in hopes that he might understand her, Satoru was doing the same to her.

"Of course. You have my word, Satoru-san." Kasumi earnestly reciprocated, showing just how serious she was.

He had done the same for her, so she shared the same curtesy. After all, what were friends for?

His eyes widened at her quick and serious answer. He took a moment to collect himself and after several deep breathes he faced her one more time. And so, Satoru began to explain everything. Beginning with when he first received his promotion. From there, he confided in her the truth of the situation, as well as an explanation regarding his work persona. She kept quiet, patiently listening as he explaining his story. Looking at everything as a whole, she came to understand why Satoru choose to act and lived the way he did.

She had always seen him as stoic and impassive, rarely ever showing any other expression aside from mild indifference. But he more than made up for it with his actions, treating his fellow co-workers with respect and care. A man that was all about business but was far from heartless or unfair as many others in his position.

To hear and see how he truly was, was a bit disorienting. She had gotten so used to how he portrayed himself at work that to see him in another light was strange, to say the least. It was almost as they were two different people.

At the same time, a part of her was glad to be able to see this other side of Satoru. It only went to prove that he was far from stoic as his persona portrayed. Here, he was definitely expressive, almost vulnerable but that was far from a bad thing in her mind. It only showed that he was just like everyone else, a human just like her. Kasumi could feel the kindness and consideration in him as she could when they worked together.

By the end of it all, Kasumi felt as if she understood him a bit better.

"It's surprising, I'm not gonna lie but I understand where you're coming from." She said at the end of it all.

"That's it?" Came his reply.

"Yeah, I mean. What else is there to say?"

"I just...kind of thought there would have been more a reaction from you…" Satoru hesitantly said.

"How did you think I would react?" She asked curiously.

"Err, I wasn't really sure. I just…well, I was just afraid you might think less of me or something." Satoru expressed

"Please, do you think I'm really that shallow?" She arched a skeptical brow at his preconceived fear.

"Right, sorry." Satoru apologized, sheepishly scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

Seeing him all bashful, an urge bloomed within her. One that she couldn't help but indulge in.

"So, our big bad boss has a sensitive side after all? Wonder what the others would think if they heard that."

"Y-you said wouldn't tell anyone!" He cried in a slightly pitched voice.

"Relax! I was just kidding." She cackled. He was so expressive in how he reacted that she couldn't help herself just so she could see how he would react next.

Satoru gave her what she thought was a glare, though it was greatly diminished by his reddened cheeks and pouting face. Kasumi couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Sorry, sorry, just couldn't help myself." Her laughter died down. She then looked at him with what he could only describe as a smug but curious look.

"What is it?" He said, look at her cautiously.

"So, you by any chance remember what happened last night?" Kasumi asked suddenly, obviously referring to their nightly activities.

Satoru's reaction was immediate. "Why would you ask that?!" He exclaimed with a red face.

"Meh, just curious." She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but there was a clear, impish smile on her face.

"Who the heck would be curious about that?!" He returned.

"Well, I am." Kasumi simply returned.

Satoru sputtered with his words and at this point, she didn't bother trying hide just how much she was enjoying seeing him all embarrassed. Recognizing that she was making jokes at his expense, he fought to bring himself under control.

"No, we were way past drunk for me to remember anything…" He gave. That seemed to be the end, only for a whisper to escape his mouth just loud enough that Kasumi heard it. "Though kind of I wished I did…"

Satoru's eyes immediately widened, he slowly turned his head back towards Kasumi.

"…I said that out loud didn't I?"

Kasumi simply smiled but there was no denying the coloring on her cheeks. It seemed that she was far from composed as she thought. Satoru groaned in his hands as a fresh wave of embarrassment washed over him.

"Geez, you're such a virgin." Kasumi joked.

"Well, you've already helped me with that front." Satoru fired back.

Kasumi blinked, not expecting such a snappish reply from him after everything she saw of him. A smirk broke out on her face. It seemed that he wasn't as toothless as she originally thought.

Amidst this, the two suddenly began to laugh at it all. The pair shared an awkward but budding laugh, laughing away at the entire situation. The series of events that led them to this moment being so absurd for the two of them, that they couldn't help themselves. Slowly, they were starting to relax, and it wasn't long before the two were comfortable with the other's presence.

While their conversation died down for the moment there was still one matter left lingering between them. Arguably the most important subject they needed to address if they wanted to move forward. However, neither one knew how to approach the other about it.

What happens next?

"Kasumi-san…what…where do we go from here?" Surprisingly, it was Satoru that took the first step towards addressing the matter.

"Honestly, I don't know myself." She admitted with a shrug, nursing her cooled coffee. "I think the better question is, do you want something more to come out of this."

At Kasumi poignant question all Satoru could do was keep quiet. As time dragged on Kasumi began to worry, worried that she might have jumped into it too quickly. Before either one could speak up an alarm went off.

Earlier, after their eventful wake up Satoru dropped her clothes into the washer to clean them for her. The alarm meant it was finished, and also provided him with a distraction.

"It must be done, I'll go get it." Said Satoru.

Kasumi said nothing and nodded as he left the room. As he was doing that, she was left all alone for the moment. She took the moment to stand up and stretched her body, working out all the kinks. It was only now that she realized just how long they had been sitting.

She quietly took in his quaint but modest apartment in his absence. The kitchen they were in connected openly to the living room with a few doors that connected to his bedroom and others. It was fairly spartan all things considered, which only made what was available stand out all the more.

Situated within the almost barren living room was a sophisticated looking chair. Curiosity got the better of her as she walked over to inspect it. An assortment of wires, cables, and plugs attached and coming from the electronic chair. She recognized the setup, it was a rig commonly used for VR neural interfacing. Everyone had one, including herself.

She inspected the chair until she caught something out of the corner of her eye. On the wall, near his VR setup were two innocently framed pictures. The only real form of decoration for the living room. The first showed a woman and little boy. The second was far more interesting, depicting monster-like beings standing around a throne. However, that wasn't the important part, it was that Kasumi recognized the second picture.

It wasn't long before Satoru returned. He was about to inform her that her clothes would take a while to dry only see that she wasn't at the table anymore. Satoru found her in his living room, with her back turned to him.

Before he could get a word out, she said this.

"Satoru-san, are you a member of Ainz Ooal Gown?" She asked, pointing at the framed picture of the Guild.

Satoru felt his heart was in a vice grip and for a moment he was afraid. Kasumi's question was telling enough, that meant she not only played YGGDRASIL but also knew about the guild itself or its members.

Over the years, Ainz Ooal Gown made a name for themselves. They quickly rose through the ranks, earning the admiration of those within the Demi-human and Heteromorphic player community. All the while earning the ire of the Humanoid player community. The guild grew to prominence and they became infamous, to say the least, and with that infamy came enemies and detractors.

His mind raced with hundreds of questions. Since she plays YGGDRASIL, that meant she belonged to a side. Question was, which one? Heteromorph, Demi-human or worse, a Humanoid Player? The possibility that she could potentially be a player that hates or against Ainz Ooal Gown was a disconcerting one and would make things awkward really quick.

A part of him said to deny it, but that excuse was rather null considering the image she was currently looking at.

Thankfully, rationality prevailed through his usual pessimism. In the end, he decided to trust his instinct and in Kasumi.

"Yes, I am" Satoru revealed, bracing himself for her response.

"That's awesome!" Kasumi exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Do you also play YGGDRASIL, Kasumi-san?" Satoru felt that was a stupid question to ask but he needed to make sure just in case.

"Yup, I play as Angel!" Kasumi freely admitted.

Hearing this, Satoru let out a mental sigh of relief. Angels or Aerosphere were part of the Heteromorph category. Despite their virtuous nature and connotation, some were still discriminated against by the larger Humanoid player community for simply being a part of the Heteromorph community.

"I take it you're a fan?" Questioned Satoru.

"Yeah. Always hated how discriminated the Heteromorphic player base was preyed on. Since you guys showed up on the scenes, Humanoid Players are thinking twice before going on PK hunts on us. High time us "monsters" stand up for ourselves. Still, to think my own boss also plays YGGDRASIL, small world isn't it?" Kasumi noted.

Satoru couldn't help but agree, a silent nod her way.

"Come on! Which one are you Satoru-san?" She excitedly questioned, pointing at the picture.

"Ohh, I bet you're this one! No wait, I think this! Hmmm, maybe it's this one instead!" Kasumi first pointed at Nishikienrai, then to Punitto Moe, and then to Ulbert trying to guess which character was his.

"Actually, I'm the one sitting on the throne." Satoru finally pointed out.

There was a small pause as she looked back at the picture where Momonga sat.

"Hold on!" She whipped around, her eyes wide and a finger pointed straight at Satoru. "Are you saying my boss is 'The Caster of a Thousand Spells Momonga?!'"

Satoru couldn't help but cringe at hearing his online handle being exclaimed with such shock and awe, and by his own co-worker no less. He fought down a new wave of embarrassment that washed over him.

The moniker of "The Caster of a Thousand Spells" was a title bestowed upon him by his reputation as one of the premier magic casters within YGGDRASIL. Known throughout the virtual world as a player with near unmatched arcane knowledge and power.

Of course, his title was purely an exaggeration. Normally, the maximum number of spells a player at level 100 could learn and have caps at 300. With his special ability; Dark Wisdom, he was capable of exceeding the limit of how many spells he could use. The true number of spells under his belt was close to around 600 at the time, almost double the standard amount. But it was still a far cry from a thousand spell as his epithet would have everyone believed. Even disregarding that notion, the fact that he was skilled enough to manage about 600 spells within his repertoire spoken clearly skills as a Player.

It was Satoru's personal belief that the boisterous proclaim of a 'thousand spells' came from the fact that the number of available spells in his collection was diverse and expansive. Far greater than any other Players, giving him the illusion of a Player with a near limitless number of spells, or a thousand in a more manageable manner. Combined with his prowess when it came to PvP or PvE combat, it seemed that he always has a spell or two up his sleeve for any situation.

He had no idea how or even when the name got started and spread, but he had a sneaking suspicion his guildmates had a hand in it. Even Satoru would admit it was a pretty cool and catching title. Plus, secretly it felt nice to have his own title associated with him.

"No way. Alright, come fess up. Which one are you really?" Kasumi insisted.

"Why is that hard to believed?" He challenged, feeling a bit irked that she didn't believe him.

"Well, this is Momonga that we're talking about, the leader of the biggest and strongest Heteromorphic guild in all of YGGDRASIL. A player that I've heard being described as a powerful and confident player. Someone you don't want to mess with. And then there's you Satoru-san. You…well…you're you. Enough said."

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Satoru returned which earned a cackle from Kasumi.

From there their conversation devolved as the two continued going back and worth. Once the topic of YGGDRASIL was introduced, the two of them lost themselves in a rhythm as they chatted away. The original topic and argument were forgotten as they bounced from one topic to another. Their issues was put on hold as the two simply basked in one another presence, simply enjoying the moment for what it was.

Time flew on by and before they knew it, their conversation had wrapped up and they were about to go their separate ways. Kasumi was properly dressed back in her clean and dried clothes. There, the two stood about awkwardly near the hallway leading to Satoru's front door.

"Well…I guess I'll be going then. Thanks again for letting me use your washer and drier." Kasumi bowed to Satoru.

"Of course, please think nothing of it. It was the least I could do." Satoru reciprocated bowing as well.

Another pause of silence filled the air as the two simply stood around. Despite ending on a pleasant note the two never forgot about the main issue, it just that neither one truly wanted to bring up and ruin the mood.

 _'Then again, I did spring it up on him suddenly. I should give him a few days to think about it. I just hope this doesn't affect our relationship at work.'_ Kasumi wondered as she turned around. Just as she was turning the doorknob, she heard Satoru called out her name.

"Kasumi-san!"

Turning around, she looked back at Satoru. His mouth opened and closed splutteringly as he was trying to a word out. Kasumi could clearly see that he was still nervous about the issue but steeled his nerve and faced her properly.

"I've never been good with relationships, no matter what kind they were. I also never once thought in my life what happened to me could or would ever happen. Honestly, I'm still thinking this is one big lucid dream and that I'll wake up any second now." Satoru told her, accompanying with a slightly depreciating chuckle.

"You asked me if I wanted something from more from all of this. Honestly, I don't know myself. I'm a bit terrified if I'm being honest." Satoru rubbed the back of his neck in a practiced manner. For the most part, it seemed as if he was dancing around the answer, trying to muster up the courage to finally move forward.

"I know that we didn't have the greatest of starts, but I… I still enjoyed what little time we had with each other. Just talking away, it was fun; I had fun. And I wouldn't mind doing it again…" Satoru trailed off the near end, his cheeks reddening, still, Kasumi heard it as clear as day.

"Only if you want to, that is." He quickly added.

Kasumi said nothing as Satoru watched and waited for her response. His heart beating like crazy as he waited. After what seemed like an entirety, she smiled.

"Yeah, I would like that." Kasumi returned with a grateful smile.

"So…friends?" Satoru held out his hand.

"Friends." Kasumi chuckled to herself, now the roles were reversed. Grasping his hand with hers and they shook.

As the two let go of their hands Kasumi was struck with an idea.

"Sorry, going need to borrow your table real quick!"

Before Satoru could have any chance to answer she ran past him towards his kitchen table. He watched as she took out a slip of paper and pen from her bag before furiously writing something. She was back before he knew it, with an enigmatic smile on her face.

"Here you go." She handed his slip of paper that was now folded.

"What's this?" Satoru asked curiously.

"Just one of the two thank you gift, for everything you've done." Kasumi answered back.

"One?" Satoru couldn't help but raised an eyebrow at that particular fact. What was the second then, he questioned.

"Yup! And, here's present number two!"

Satoru was completely unprepared as Kasumi leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. It was firmly at this point that his mind broke down. She leaned back with a cheeky but sweet smile as she took in his flabbergasted face.

Satoru began sputtering, his words becoming a mess as he was trying to say everything yet was unable to say anything. His face was the reddest its ever been since he woke up this morning with Kasumi. Kasumi was almost worried that all the blood was rushing to his face. Taking advantage of his stunned state, she used this opportunity to leave, getting the last laugh of the situation.

"See ya around Satoru-san!" She bid farewell and left through the front door before Satoru could get any word out.

Satoru was left standing there with his mouth agape for a few minutes as his mind was trying to process what had just happened.

It was only then that he realized that he was still holding onto the slip of paper. Opening it, it read:

 _"You should try smiling some more. You have a wonderful smile and it would be a shame not to show the world it._

 _PS. Hit me up when you have time in YGGDRASIL – Destana._

 _XOXO"_

Besides the message was a username, and it didn't take a genius for him to realize that it was her online handle for YGGDRASIL.

Satoru collapsed then and there, leaning against the doorframe as he sat there contemplating everything that had happened. He pinched his cheeks, just to make sure it wasn't all a dream. He quickly got his answer when he felt the stinging sensation. He let out a massive, exasperated sigh at everything.

"What am I going to do with her?" Satoru asked aloud, despite his words they were far from rueful. A genuine smile tugging at his lips as he sat there soaking in the silence.

On the other side of the door, Kasumi walked briskly towards the elevator and entered it. A chance at being alone, she let down her guard and leaned against the railing. Her face equally as red as Satoru was.

Even Kasumi was a bit surprised and embarrassed at her brazen action, but she was far from regretting it. The memory of his face as she kissed him played back in her head, earning a small squeal of delight from her. Kasumi couldn't help it as she found this side of Satoru and his reaction a cute and endearing.

 _'He's almost like a Kuudere.'_ Kasumi compared. Cool, confident, and collected on the outside, which hides a soft warm, and expressive inside.

Which oddly, and perfectly described Satoru as a complete whole.

As the two went their separate ways, for now, they had no doubt that they would be seeing one another more in the future. If their brief, but memorable night out and morning debacle were anything to go by. Things were going to get really interesting in the future, that much the two felt was certain.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I don't exactly have much to say in this one, as it was just a chapter for fun more than progressing the narrative.** **This was a more of a follow up to the end of Momonga's part, following up since the Conquest of Nazarick. I wanted to do a bit exploration with Momonga's character and explore a different facet, as well as implement and idea I've been pondering for a while now. It's probably why it feels a bit more filler-ish compared to the others.**

 **The idea of the chapter came to as I scrolling through the various Overlord stories. Romance is a genre that isn't as prevalent or explored in Overlord. At least, not as far as I've seen for the most part. It's rather limited and cut-and-dry due to it being a bit out of place. It seems that** **topic of romance or partners for Ainz are rather limited and skewed. Either he's paired with the NPCs, OCs, or otherwise. Something I've always noticed is that it's is Ainz being in the relationship, not Momonga/Satoru if that makes any sense.**

 **I wanted to try and write him in a relationship but not as Ainz, the ruler of Nazarick but that she is in a relationship with Satoru, the man behind the mask that is Momonga. Someone that knows him for who truly is. I played with the idea that she's almost like his opposite. Where in reality he's normally skittish and shy, she's confident and assertive to build her personality.** **Reflected also in their Avatar, Momonga as an undead Overlord and Kasumi as an Angel. Hopefully I managed to portray Momonga/Satoru in an interesting and respectful light with this chapter. I also had a fun writing the character of Kasumi, and I'm curious what do you think of her? Considering she's essentially an OC for this story, similar to Reina only with a lot more prevalence in this chapter.**

 **Hopefully this chapter wasn't too dull or boring for some readers, but I do understand if it was. I'll try and wrap things up as soon as I can so that we can move on with the story and the plot as I'm extremely excited for what's to come next. There's still one more Daily Live chapter left, and I promise this one won't take another 3 or so months to release. So long as nothing too major interfere with my schedule anyways.**

 **Thank you again for reading. Please, rate and review if you enjoyed it, or if you have a comment or question you'd like to ask.**

 **See you all in the next chapter!**

 **Next Chapter: The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown pt.3**


	10. The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown Pt III

**I in no way shape or form own Fate/Stay Night or Overlord ( オーバーロード). They belong to their respective owner. Fate/Stay night is property of Type-Moon, and Overlord ( オーバーロード) belongs to Kugane Maruyama. And I in no shape or form make a profit of writing and publishing this.**

 **Hey! Well, would you take a look at that, I kept my promise with this chapter and it didn't take me another 2-3 months to actually get another chapter out. Déjà vu and repeated jokes aside, here's the third and final installment to The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown arc we've been stuck on for the last 3 to 4 months now. I'm thankful for the all kind reviews and support you've all show, but I think I can speak for most that its high time the plot starts rolling again. As much as I enjoyed writing and exploring these characters I'm itching for some real action and progression.**

 **The next chapter will pick right back up with Shirou the progression of the story. For now, however, as I alluded to in the Anniversary Update this chapter will be all about Touch Me and Ulbert.**

 **I actually began writing this chapter some months ago, in fact, I had the idea, outline, and about 50% of the chapter written a long while back but never got to finish it. It was actually this interlude that contributed most to the long hiatus as I could not for the life of me back then write the way I envisioned the chapter. Which led to the feeling of frustration, leading to even more writer's block, and then procrastination. Which lead to Momonga's interlude being stalled, and on and on the cycle went. For close to 3 months.**

 **Thankfully, and finally, I was able to finally able to write the chapter that I envisioned and wished to publish. I've also must thank Dante Evans for the immense work he put in, helping finalize everything. Seriously, if it weren't for him I would have been stuck for who knows how long.**

 **There's an Author's note at the end, listing my thoughts and reasoning for the chapter. And considering the length, and the topic of the chapter it'll be quite extensive, probably much more than the others due to what ideas I was tackling.**

 **I would also like to take this time to say thank you for the kind comments and reviews left on the Anniversary Update. I was unable to properly answer much of them, I did read them all and was touched as well as Dante, he certainly got a good laugh out of it. I've also decided to combine the Anniversary Update with this if only to save room on the chapter numbering and space. It'll be at the very end, with the omake and all if anyone happens to miss it by any chance.**

 **With all the boring stuff out of the way, please enjoy the chapter!**

 **Beta'd: Dante Evans**

 **Word Count: 30,183**

* * *

 **The Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown: Touch Me and Ulbert** **Alain Odle.**

 **December 17th, 2134.**

"And this concludes the tour of our precinct." Standing within the main hallway of the precinct, a lone officer addressed a crowd of cadets.

Were any members of Ainz Ooal Gown present, they would have easily mistaken the man to be a young version of the NPC Sebas Tian. From the suave white hair to his refined features, and robust body. It was near an identical image, and there was a reason for that. For Sebas Tian was heavily based on Touch Me's real appearance. In life, he was simply known as **Ichirou Yukanna** , a humble officer of the law.

About an hour and a half ago Ichirou gave a tour of their precinct to the academy cadets, showing them the ins and outs of the building. As well as informing them in explicit detail the importance of each position and location. Trying to foster a due-diligent within their minds. Though it was clear to Ichirou that his words went in one ear and came out the other. Some hide it better than others, but he could see that they were all tired and bored out of their minds.

They simply didn't care for his words or his message.

"I don't see why we have to bother with this boring bullshit…" One of the cadets whispered to his friend.

"The reason for this "bullshit" as you so aptly called it." Ichirou suddenly addressed the one that made the comment. Showing despite the cadet's effort Ichirou heard and he wasn't amused.

The officer fixed him, and the rest of the cadets with a firm glare. They all straightened up at this and kept their mouths shut.

"Is it because it does matter. Perhaps not to you, but it still matters to this." The officer jabbed his thumb at the badge pinned on his uniform. "If you all intend to be officers of the law, then you must uphold the values that make it right. No matter what. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" They all saluted.

"You're all dismissed." He said,

Ichirou watched as the cadets dispersed and walked away. He watched on as they began chatting with one another, no longer afraid under his scrutinizing gaze. They would be the future he thought, those who would too take up the badge just like him. Ichirou couldn't help but grimace at that fact.

He knew from past experience that they wouldn't take heed of his words. They would ignore entirely, believing his words as nothing more than archaic and pointless from someone they would consider an 'old timer.' But then again, such as sight was hardly ever surprising anymore. Not after all that had changed in his lifetime. That, however, did mean they were worthless. He would just have to set the standard then and show them what it truly means to be a police officer.

The white-haired officer let out a sigh before straightening back up. He walked aimlessly for a bit since he was tasked with taking the cadets on a tour, his workload cleared up. Ichirou could have left right then and there, but it didn't sit right with him. Turning a corner, the aged officer bumped into someone, the two of them recoiling back in surprise.

"I'm sorry." He immediately said.

"Fine…Ichirou-san…just fine…" His co-worker said, in between what appeared to be fits of laughers.

"Are you alright?" He questioned seeing the odd behavior. It looked like he was recovering from a laughing fit.

"Sorry about that Ichirou-san." Another voice chimed in. Behind the officer he bumped into were three of his friends.

They were officers just like Ichirou, but a simple look at them showed that they were far younger, and juvenile compared to himself. They all wore amused looks with a smile tugging at their lips.

"Is there something going on that I missed?" Ichirou furrowed his brow in confusion.

"No, we were just laughing because of this perp we brought in." One of them informed.

"A perp, and how was this funny?" The elderly officer questions.

"Because you should have heard the things he said!" This brought on a new fit of laughter from the four young officers.

"Do you remember him muttering like some weird shit like he was going to threaten us?"

"Yeah, like how he would destroy us with the power of a World Disaster or some shit? The hell is a World disaster?"

"I also remember him saying something about being late for an, ahhh what's the word. Aung Ooa Guun or something like that?"

"I think it was Ainz something or whatever. I have no idea, it funny though."

As they were rambling on, Ichirou felt his body stiffened. His mind racing, trying to make sense of what he had just heard and learn. Hearing all these familiar terms straight from their mouths, he could only come to one conclusion.

 _'Could it be…?'_ If he what he was thinking was indeed true, then that means he had one of his comrades from Ainz Ooal Gown within the station.

Ichirou made his decision then and there.

"Excuse me." He said, grabbing the young officer's attention.

"Yeah? You need something Ichirou-san?"

"Is he still within the station? The perp you brought in."

"Er, yea. He's still locked up in the holding rooms. Why—"

"If you would like, I can take over for you." Ichirou offered.

Every time an officer made an arrest, they were required to interview their perpetrator as well as write a report on the arrest. Simple, if arbitrary work and one that his younger co-officers hated as it was boring work. Which was exactly he was banking on.

This was seen by him accepting Ichirou's offer without even asking for a reason. Happy to shrug off his work and handing it over to Ichirou.

However, that fact mattered little to him at the moment. He walked silently and quickly, navigating through the precinct towards his destination. Within a minute he arrived, an adjourning room within the precinct that was used to hold anyone they brought it. Several doors lined the walls, each leading to a holding room of their own.

The door had a small one way window, allowing for officers on the outside to spy in on the individual inside. He found the one he was looking for and peeked through the window. Ichirou could tell the man inside was a salaryman by the wrinkled clothes alone. On first impressions, he looked like an ordinary and mundane salaryman that could be found off the street. Everything else about him was average, with combed black hair, and average facial features. A perpetual frown could be seen as he was glowering at the walls.

However, it was the eyes that truly captured his attention. They looked so dead, so hollow and lifeless. They were like dead fish eyes, like a mired mirror that instead of reflecting a clear picture, reflected something more vacuous. It was almost as if the man was dead to the world, and everything around him. His gaze, it felt familiar to Ichirou.

Seeing him there and taking in the stranger's appearance, combined with the hints that came from his fellow co-officer, and sense of familiarity he was feeling; Ichirou had a fairly clear idea just who exactly the perp was. In the end, there was only one way to confirm his suspicions.

Next to the door were a clipboard and several documents that needed to be filled out with the arrest. Ichirou wasn't interested in that, but rather the name on it that belonged to the man in question.

" **Youta Kurayami** …" Ichirou spoke, reading his name and committing it to memory.

Taking a deep breath, the officer braced himself for their encounter. Ready, he opened the door and silently walked on in, drawing the immediate attention of the salaryman. The two made eye contact with one another but no word was spoken. Neither spoke, choosing instead to continue their impromptu stare off and allowing the silence to hang between them. A silence that grew tenser by the second, eventually one of them will have to give.

Ichirou likes to think he had a good grasp on certain nuances when it came to friends, especially when he had known someone like Ulbert for several years now. All the way back during the early days of Nines Own Goal with Tabula. If the man in front of him was indeed Ulbert Alain Odle as he believed, then the officer knew it was only a matter of time before he could make the first move. The demonic player had always been rather impulsive, more so when it came to awkward situations such as the one, they were in.

It paid off as within the next second, he opened his mouth.

"Are you just going to stare at me all day or what? Seriously, did they pass on a senile old man to me?" The man, Youta voiced, the same derisive tone Ichirou has always known Ulbert to have clear in his voice. Proving once in for all that it was indeed Ulbert sitting in front of him.

Anyone else in the situation might have been offended but to Touch Me/Ichirou such verbal remarks barely even phased him considering the two had been at it for a long time.

Ichirou allowed a small smirk to break out, surprising his heteromorphic comrade. "I see your manners still need some work, Ulbert-san." Ichirou playfully chided.

If Youta was surprised before, he was downright speechless hearing his online name being spoken by an all too familiar voice. For a few seconds, his eyes were completely wide, and his mouth agape in complete shock.

"Touch Me…?" He tentatively asked once he recovered.

"Indeed, hello to you as well Ulbert-san." Ichirou nodded

Staring at him for a few more seconds, slumped back in his chair. A groan escaping him as he glanced back at the standing officer.

"What the hell…This must be some joke, you and me meeting here."

"Indeed, I must admit I never once thought of this ever happening as well. It's a welcome surprise, to say the least.

"Speak for yourself Touch Me." Youta huffed, clicking his tongue "As if this day couldn't get any worse. Now I have to deal with you."

"May I call you Youta-san for the remainder of this?" Ichirou politely inquired.

"Call me whatever you want Touch Me. Doesn't matter to me." Ulbert or rather Youta dismissed.

"Ichirou." The policeman suddenly said, catching Youta's attention.

"What?" he asked back.

"Ichirou Yukanna is my name. It seems only fair I share mine as I now know yours." Ichirou explained.

To which Youta couldn't help but snort in response. "Leave it to you to think of something as asinine as fairness and whatnot. I don't give a damn what you call me."

Ichirou decided to ignore his barbed words and continued on.

"Youta-san, before I can let you go, I will need a recount of what exactly happened that led up to your arrest. I'll need your cooperation and the truth of what happened for the report."

Holding up his clipboard and pen at the ready, Ichirou jotted down everything he needed for his report. From Youta's account, he was minding his own business while waiting on the tram station when a pair of officers were just passing by. He said how they had singled him out and unfairly arrested him for no real reason and brought him to the precinct. All the while making insults towards his fellow co-officers. During this, Ichirou felt his story was far too skewed.

He knew a few of them could be a bit crooked, but they wouldn't waste their time arresting someone out of the blue. Not unless said culprit did something to offend them in so ways. Combined with the knowledge that his comrade was quite antagonistic a times. It was clear Youta was leaving some things out.

Upon further grilling Ichirou got him to speak the truth. Apparently, upon seeing the pair of officers Youta muttered a few insults and slurs directed at them under his breath. It seemed that he wasn't as quiet as he thought of as they managed to catch the tail of it and decided to teach him a lesson. The salaryman made it abundantly clear that they weren't too gentle with him when taking him into the station. Ichirou could feel the anger in his voice as he described the rough handling, even some of it directed at him. Much to his confusion.

"Then let this be a lesson to you, Youta-san. You can't just speak or think ill will of someone and expect there to be no repercussion." Ichirou cautioned.

"Oh, am I no longer allowed to exercise my freedom of speech?" Youta fired back; twisting the police officer's words to his favor.

"No! What I'm saying is, there are a time and place for everything. It's probably better if you don't just say anything at all." Ichirou countered, slightly exasperated.

"You government lapdog would like that, wouldn't you? For us peons to just zip it and submit to your rules. Like mindless puppets." The salaryman taunted.

"That's not it either! I'm saying this for your sake, as next time you might not just be so fortunate to have me around to bail you out." Ichirou's lips pursed at his friend's stubborn and dismissive attitude.

"Whatever." Youta huffed and rolled his eyes. "Are we done here or what? Your jackasses of friends already arrested me and made me late for something important."

Ichirou suppressed a weary sigh, choosing instead to look back at his papers.

"I would say so. I have all the information I need to file a report. You'll be released in short order Youta-san." Ichirou promised.

"Finally!" He stood up and stretched as Ichirou walked towards the door.

As he reached for the doorknob Ichirou stopped abruptly. A realization struck him as it dawned on him that it was just the two of them. This was the perfect opportunity a part of him whispered. An opportunity to finally ask and perhaps even answer a question that he had been wondering for a long time now. Unlike within YGGDRASIL Youta could not simply avoid him by teleporting away or even logging out. Here they were, face to face at last and this time he didn't have a way out. Releasing the doorknob, he turned back to Youta.

"Actually, I must ask for another moment of your time Youta-san."

Youta's head snapped towards Ichirou's. Barely concealed irritation etched on his face as his expression twisted into a scowl.

"Oi, what the hell?! I thought you said I was free to go!"

"And you will. You'll be properly released in short order _after_ I ask you what I would like to ask of you." Ichirou smoothly countered.

"Like hell you are! You said you've got everything you need, so what the hell do you need me here even longer for?!"

"Just a simple question I would like to ask you."

"Well, you can take it and shove it! If it ain't got anything to do with the case, then that means you can't keep me here like a prisoner!"

"You'll find that I can hold you here until I deem it right to release you from my custody. I doubt any of my fellow co-officers would be any more inclined to let you off the hook as I am. Cooperate and this'll be over shortly. Continue lashing out and we'll be here for a while."

Youta was gobsmacked, his mouth slightly agape after hearing what amounted to an ultimatum from Ichirou. He had expected a number of reactions his comrade would do. Angry shouting and screaming being the primary response, but what the police officer didn't expect was for him to burst into laughter. It was a burst of maniacal laughter, the clear maliciousness in it was palpable.

The salaryman dropped back onto his chair and laughed uncontrollably.

"Hahaha! Oh, this is glorious! Hahaha! Absolutely rich! Meeting the wannabe hero, surrounded by his equals! Hahaha!" Ichirou was able to make out his words in-between each fit of laughter.

Startled, but no less resolute, Ichirou attempted to continue the conversation. More so because Ichirou was curious about what Youta said to him. "Wannabe hero? What on earth are you talking about, Youta-san."

Having made out Ichirou's voice through his mirth, Youta's chuckles die down. Looking back at the self-proclaimed hero of justice Ichirou nearly flinch from his glare. The sheer hostility in his gaze burning within his eyes. Accompanying the smoldering glare was an amused sneer.

"You really are such a hypocrite." Youta said much to Ichirou's continual confusion.

"W-what? How am I—"

"A hypocrite?" Youta cut him off as well as finished his sentence for him.

"How about the fact that you just basically made a threat against me! All because of one selfish question, one that you must be dying to have me answer if you're willing to circumvent your oh so sacred regulations and rules. To keep me a hostage, where I am powerless to act or defend myself against you. Twisting the rules and laws in your favor and forcing me to comply!" Youta elaborated with a vicious smirk. Which only grew as he watched his rival's face contort with conflicted emotions.

Loathed as he was to admit it, Youta had a point. Ichirou was keeping him rather unlawfully against his will, even after he had everything he needed from the man. He went against his promise and basically threatened him to a certain degree. Forcing him to comply with his question, eventually. Ichirou couldn't justify it as he knew, in the end, the question has no relation to the case, and it was a selfish request on the police officers' part.

"Sooo…" Youta leaned back in his chair and kicked up his feet onto the table. "Is this now an interrogation, _hero_?" He sneered.

This managed to knock Ichirou out of his thoughts.

"I—I…Youta-san…" He began but it fell under deaf ears.

"Should I be expecting some friends of yours to pop on in? The two who arrested me would probably like another crack at me."

"That's not going to happen! If you just—"

"Oh, I see! You'll much rather get your hands dirty than let anyone else do it for you."

"Stop and listen, I'm—"

"Man, I wonder what the others in Ainz Ooal Gown would think if they hear about this."

Every time Ichirou tried to get his words out, he was immediately rebuked at every turn by Youta. And if his smirk was anything to go by the salaryman was clearly aware of his actions. Cutting him off at every turn. Every man had a breaking point, and Ichirou had reached his.

"Enough!" Ichirou slammed his hands on the table, interrupting Youta mid talk. He was done playing games.

"I am sorry if I gave off the wrong impression, but I will not allow you to sit there and blindly dismiss me! So you listen here—"

"No, you listen!" Jumping to his own feet Youta shouted, glaring right back at Ichirou.

"I've listened to you already, now it's my turn. So, you listen, _hero_." Youta growled, getting in front of Ichirou with his finger jabbing the police officer.

Ichirou nevertheless complied, matching his guildmates stare and keeping quiet as his comrade began his tangent.

"I'm sick and tired of dealing with your high and mightier than thou bullshit! In game, you act like you're the moral compass of the group, with the ethical high ground at every _godforsaken_ occasion. Every time, it's always the god damn same thing with you! Justice this, or heroic that, always a fucking speech to make my ear bleed! I am not dealing with any of your speeches! You fat, bigoted, penguin _motherfucker_!"

Ichirou couldn't help but blink at the rather incredulous insult. Out of everything Youta could pick, he decided to call the police officer a penguin. He would admit his officer uniform does have the color scheme and pattern to look somewhat similar to a penguin. Still, that was a bit of a stretch.

Beyond that, Ichirou knew better than to say anything. This was far from the first time their arguments have reached a boiling point. He had lost count just how many fights they've been in, whether it was vocal or physical. More so the former than the latter in most cases. They've done this song and dance dozens of times in the past, back in YGGDRASIL. If anything, him proceeding onto his explosive rant was actually a good thing.

From past experience, Ichirou knew Youta would eventually be winded and exhausted by the end, once he let out his entire frustration. He would be far more amiable after when he got everything off his chest.

All Ichirou had to do was weather the caustic storm of insults Youta was throwing his way. His screaming insults becoming almost white noise as he did his best to ignore him. It would be another minute before the angry rant would begin to die down. With the policeman catching the tail end of it all.

"So fuck everything! Fuck your jackass friends, fuck this shithole of a police precinct, fuck this room, and more importantly; fuck you!" With one final shout, he finished his verbal assault.

The impromptu speech leaving him breathless. Panting, Youta kept his glare centered on the stoic appearance of Ichirou. As if to ask him "Are you done?" After a few more seconds Youta slumped in his chair, his heavy breathing lessening. The two said nothing more after his outburst, allowing an awkward silence to penetrate the room.

Youta scoffed.

"You know, I always had the feeling you were giving a look whenever we have our arguments. Now, seeing your ugly mug in person, the urge to punch your face is even stronger."

Ichirou ignored his threat, again patiently and stoically keeping quiet until Youta finally got everything out of his systems.

Youta glared intensified at the silent treatment the police officer was giving to him. It died down within a few more seconds. Once again returning silence to the room. By the one-minute mark, it became almost unbearable that Youta finally gave in.

Youta let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, the fuck do you want?" He asked in an 'I'm-done-with-this-shit' tone that he had seen him used before.

Satisfied in the knowledge that his comrade would be amiable to his words now, Ichirou began.

"Firstly, allow me to say I am sorry." Ichirou apologized. "I did not mean for what I said to be a threat in any kind. I—I had only the most honest of intention when I wished to ask you my question."

"Whatever." Youta dismissed without a thought. "Just ask your damn question already, so we can get this over with."

"Very well." Ichirou cleared his throat in preparation for what he was about to say. "I know we may not always see eye to eye, but I still hold respect for you, Youta-san. Even after all we've been through, the fights and arguments, I think of you as a friend. All I ask is you at the very least, show the same courtesy that I have shown you throughout the years we've been together…"

"Just get on with it…" Youta commented annoyingly in the middle of his sentence.

" **Youta-san, do you hate me?"** Ichirou finally asked.

Hearing the question, Youta stiffened in his chair at the abrupt and poignant question. He looked back the self-proclaimed hero of justice, trying to see if he misheard. One look at Ichirou's face told him that he didn't. The World Champion was deadly serious. Youta schooled his expressions as he returned an impassive look of his own against Ichirou's. The two engage in a stare off as the air within the room stilled.

 _'Do you hate me?'_ The question repeated in his head again, and again, and again as he continued looked back Ichirou.

It was no secret in the guild that Touch Me and Ulbert aka Ichirou and Youta got along like a house on fire. That was to say, not great. The two were practically polar opposites of one another, from their taste, playstyle, and even actions and beliefs. Their rivalry and differences caused tension between one another. One would think that with one another in the same guild, that conflict was inevitable and to a certain extent, it was if the number of arguments was anything to go by.

Their arguments made it clear they don't value or take the other seriously. More so Youta than Ichirou. Yet, they continued on being around and playing with one another, choosing to remain in the same guild. In close proximity to one another, knowing full well that they'll butt head with one another. Always. For close to five years they have remained allies, clanmates and eventually guildmates.

But one would hesitate to call them true friends based on these facts. Ichirou does, but never did it seem Youta shared the same sentiment.

It was basically inferred that the two mutually disliked each other, and merely tolerated one another but never was the matter ever brought up properly. Let alone resolved.

Until now.

The tension in the room mounted, becoming so thick that one could cut it with a knife. It only continues to escalate as the seconds ticked by.

Finally, it would be Youta to dispell the silence with his voice.

"Tell me Ichirou. Do you believe in monsters?"

Ichirou couldn't help but blink at his response. He didn't expect Youta to answer his question with a question of his own. He had wanted to ask him to get back on track but decided against it seeing the equally serious look on his comrade's face.

"I cannot say I do. At least, not since I was still a boy." Ichirou answered.

"And yet you clearly believed in heroes. Saying the day, rescuing the princess, ending the threat of the demon king." Youta mocked.

"Those are in the realm of fantasy, Youta-san. There's more to a hero than just that, for a hero can come in all shapes and sizes." The police officer countered.

"Oh yes, I know. But the same can be said for monsters as well. Not all monsters are monstrous beings." Youta said back. A cryptic smirk on his face; as if he had secretly been waiting for Ichirou to bring that matter up for discussion.

Ichirou opened his mouth to answer back only for Youta to continue on without concern for the police officer.

"My mom used to tell me to beware of monsters. I was a kid back then, so I just took her words at that. She was always rather ambiguous with it, like monsters under my bed, or in the dark, and others I can't remember." Youta revealed.

Ichirou shut his mouth with an audible click at how fast he did it. It was an almost unspoken rule within Ainz Ooal Gown that a member never has to reveal and or talk about their personal life. It was a game after all, so why bother bringing troublesome matters to a place for them to relax and forget about it. That wasn't to say one couldn't, but personal affairs were kept between the closest of friends. Or in some cases vague, but common knowledge on the players.

Such as Ichirou's ideal on heroism and his occupation as a police officer. Subsequently, the knowledge that he was married and lives a comfortable life was also common knowledge for the guild.

Opposite to him was Youta, who let little to nothing about his true life be known. Out of everyone within the guild, he was confident that only Momonga knew the full extent of his backstory.

"I lost my parents when I was young. Hell, I don't even remember how old I was when they died. All I knew was that I was old enough to know what had happened." Youta told.

Ichirou felt his body straighten rigidly in both surprise and shock. He was telling his backstory and already Ichirou could tell it was not a happy one.

"Youta-san. You don't—"

"Let me finish…" The salaryman interrupted. The light in his eyes was gone, back to those dead eyes Youta wore when Ichirou first saw him.

"They worked on the production line for some company. It was a shit job with shit pay, and dangerous as hell. But it was the only thing available to them to put money on the table, and food in our stomachs. Every day they would come home late and would barely get even four hours of sleep and rest before having to get back to work. Yet, each day they would make time for me. Tuck me in a night, and just talk about anything and everything. They were there for me; until that day." Youta described. His voice hollowingly monotone.

Ichirou kept quiet while also giving a silent prayer to Youta's parents.

"They died horribly. At least, that what I imagined anyway. Working in such a dangerous place, it all just collapsed. They couldn't even find their damn bones. Probably buried underneath a pile of rubble, crushed into dust, or even burnt into ashes. And don't get me started on the joke of a compensation that was given for their death. Let me tell you, the insurance payment was complete shit. It barely had enough to last me through the week. I barely finished elementary school before I had to start working just so I wouldn't be kicked off into the streets." Youta let out a mirthless laugh, one that Ichirou couldn't help but shiver from. The bleakness in his voice was nauseating.

"I learned two important lessons all those years ago. The world doesn't care for people like me, and more importantly, the people especially don't give a shit either! It's funny, my mom always said to watch out for monsters. On that day, I realized something. She wasn't just talking about the imaginary kind, I found out exactly what kind of monster people are and can be."

Youta looked straight at Ichirou, who met his eyes unflinchingly.

"I realized something, a long, long time ago. I realized that this world, this shit hole of a planet we call home is cruel. And every day it reinforced it. I realized that it was not Monsters or even God that made this world a hellhole. It was humans that made it how it is today. It has always been humanity's fault, from the beginning till now."

It was no secret that Ulbert/Youta suffered from a heavy case of misanthropy. This could be seen in his insults and barbed trades when they go against humanoid players. Along with the occasional chunni speeches he would give; on how humanity would suffer his demonic wrath.

Many would assume that it was just him playing around. A type of roleplay, a persona of sorts to match his demonic avatar. But that couldn't be any further from the truth. For he truly burned with a deep and passionate hatred for his own kind; mankind. Youta wasn't afraid to make this fact known; it was only those closest to him that knew just how far his hatred runs. How far his wroth stretched.

Touch Me/Ichirou being one of them. But it was only now that he truly realizes just how far it truly went. Learning of Youta's past only made him understand where his misanthropy was born from.

"People so often believe that monsters are humanity's greatest threat. That it was the devil that tempted us to fall or its monsters that'll kill us remorselessly. I think otherwise. A monster is just that, a monster. It's evil because that is how it is; because it was simply born that way. Humanity, on the other hand, is far more horrible. After all, we have the choice to be good or evil. To be a monster if we please. People willingly make fucked-up chooses. We are capable of such atrocities that even monsters fear us. Capable of horrors that make the devil afraid of us.

Look no further than the shit we call reality. A polluted and overpopulated earth, where every waking moment and day is suffering. Everywhere you go it's a constant reminder of our sin. The nauseous poison filled sky that can kill if we're not careful. The lifeless drones that are the masses, people uncaring of anyone's plights but their own. The rampant number of deaths from exhaustion and overwork. The pampered fucks that make up the corrupt and high society that doesn't give a shit about any of us and controls us like puppets."

Youta jabbed his finger at Ichirou, it wasn't at him he was targeting. Rather, the police badge he wore.

"I realized something; that we are truly the worst. People are selfish, cruel beings, monsters in their own rights. We're all monsters, some more so than others but we are all the same underneath. No one is an exception to that rule; especially you." He turned his dead gaze back to Ichirou.

"But to be completely honest with your question _hero_ ; I would have to say I do not hate you as a person."

"What?" Ichirou let out in confusion to Youta's answer.

Youta gave a nonchalant shrug in the face of the elderly officer's confusion and choosing to say nothing more. He averted his eyes from Ichirou for a moment, remain quiet as if he was collecting his thoughts for what's to come next. After a bout of silence, he turned back to Ichirou to answer his question in earnest.

"Despite my behaviors, I do not simply hate you on principle alone. If that was the case, then I would have left a long, long time ago. Along with trying PKing your ass all the way till Sunday. When I said I truly don't hate you I meant it. While I may not hate you outright, I do dislike you for many reasons. In the end, it all stemmed from my own petty jealousy and rivalry for you.

I hated that you were everything I wasn't. I was born in this world as a natural-born loser, I'll spend the rest of my life working to the bone and most like share the same fate as parents. I envy you because you are everything I'm not! While I was born to fail, you were lucky enough to be born into a well-off lifestyle that only us bottom dwellers could only dream of reaching.

But, despite my jealousy and annoyance towards you, I can not say that I completely hate you as a person, Ichirou."

Youta admitted, leaving Ichirou in silent shock and contemplation.

To hear his guildmate whom he has always known to be prickly and prideful, sounding humble in his admission shocked him more than Ichirou cared to admit.

It was also during this that Youta finally addressed him by his name, where before he would always avoid in favor of other names and titles. This fact, combined with his admission and tone, Ichirou knew he was speaking the truth.

However, Youta was far from done. In fact, he was just getting started.

Youta closed his eyes. "You asked me if I hated you." He repeated.

"While I don't hate you as a person, there was one thing that I absolutely despised about Touch Me; and that was your ideal and everything you stand for!" He declared.

Youta's snapped opened, glaring daggers as Ichirou. The once dull gaze burned away, replaced with smothering fire.

"I hated it, every time it was the same damn thing with you! Hero of justice this, bringing justice to all that, it was maddening! Hearing you parrot those moral ideals day in and day out in game. They were nothing but empty words! You were nothing but a pretender, a farce hiding behind a naïve and idiotic ideal. What made it worse was that you were a blind slave to it! Ignorant of the beliefs you championed. I hate you because the ideals you defended were nothing more than a façade! Every situation, every time we would do something together as a clan or guild it would always be the same bullshit!"

"I hated you because you were a blind fool!" Youta admitted again, the raw unfettered emotion burning within his voice. In fact, he felt almost as if a burden was finally lifted off his shoulder as he screamed this towards the target of said anger.

"You preached on and on about justice and peace. About protecting people and bringing justice to the world. But where were your precious ideals when my parents died, and no one gave a rat's ass about me or them?! Where was your notion of justice when I was forced to work, a child no older ten just so I wouldn't be kicked out to die on the streets? Where is the good and justice in a fucked up situation like that?!

Where the fuck was my justice, my peace?!

How is it **fair** to let only you people preach about peace and justice?! The very same people profiting from our labor and misfortune! You've never had to work as we had! Tolling away just so that we shouldn't fucking starve or worse! You've never had to truly work a day in your life, knowing that you would still be well off. A luxury that we can only dream of as every day we spend toiling away just to get by. You have never suffered, suffered like I have, once in your cushy life, and you think you know for me?

Don't give me that fucking bullshit!

What gives you the right to dictate what is fair, and what is justice?! Do you think you're better than me? Better than anyone else because of those naïve and lofty ideals?

I hated you because of your naïve ideals. A hero of justice? Bringing peace and order to all? Please, as if someone like you could ever hope to become such a thing as lofty as that! And people call me delusional and a chunni! I accepted my place in this cruel world and made my peace with it. Yet, you choose to cling onto a child's fairytale. Whether it be in YGGDRASIL or on the streets. Your naïve ideals are nothing more than that, ideals. And like all ideals, they are forever out of reach.

I hated you because you blindly and stupidly follow your selfish ideals like a chained dog. You were nothing but a selfish hypocrite, hiding behind a veneer of justice and righteous. Yet, have you ever once thought about your ideals and what they truly mean in the grand scope of things? Are you blind that you cannot see such a thing is impossible? And still, you still chase after it indefinitely! News flash! You can't help or save everyone, nor can you expect everything them to play by your rules. After all; humans are cruel beings.

I hate you Touch Me because you are no true hero of justice or anything! You're just a man; a human. Just like me, just like everyone else on this planet.

A man playing pretend at Hero…"

Youta finished. Exhaustion gripped his entire body as he fell back into his chair completely exhausted. His throat burned from all the talking and screaming he just did. Sweat dripped from his forehead as the salaryman fought to catch his breath.

There was a fine line that Youta distinguished between Ichirou as a person and the persona that was Touch Me.

To put it simply, Ulbert/Youta hated the persona that was Touch Me; the side of Ichirou that championed his ideals. He did not completely hate Ichirou Yukanna; the man behind the mask. In some respect, the heteromorphic player held a bit of respect for the self-proclaimed hero of justice. At the very least, he had the decency to fight against the injustice and how unfair the world truly was. It was only overshadowed by the sheer contempt for the naïve ideals the police officer championed. Riding a delicate line between one and the other.

Glancing at Ichirou at the corner of his eyes, he has expected a number of reactions. Anything from shock, to horror, to of course anger. Only, Ichirou to remain stoic as he was in the beginning when Youta exploded into his speech. He could hardly tell what the police officer was thinking at that moment, his expression giving away nothing.

"I see." Ichirou closed his eyes, silent in contemplation.

Without saying another word Ichirou turned around walked out the door. A soft clicking noise following suit, the door locking him in.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Ichirou remained there. It was clear by his silent and stern visage that Youta's word had an impact on him.

Without another word, the policeman walked away from the room. His body running on autopilot as he made his way through the police station. The surrounding blurred around him as his thoughts were taken up by Youta's word.

 _'He's not wrong.'_ His mind supplied.

Ichirou was far from a naïve idiot that his guildmate made him out to be nor was he as simple as his actions and demeanor might appear. He had known the truth for a very long time and in some ways, he had known it from the very beginning. The changing times, and the new bitter reality that became so commonplace now. One that so many were thrust upon.

His mind was elsewhere. Youta's words, they stirred up old memories, old feelings within Ichirou. He lost himself in memories, reminiscing just how things have changed, and just how much he has changed as well.

Among everyone within Ainz Ooal Gown, Touch Me/Ichirou was considered the oldest amongst all forty two members. His age was considered a small point of contention, but it was acknowledged that he was "wisest" out of the guild, beside Shirou. He was around mid-forties where everyone else was at least two decades or younger than him.

Unlike many such Ulbert/Youta or Momonga/Satoru, whom were born during the height of the dystopian world Ichirou was among those to stand witness the changing times. He was present at the end of an era, and the rise of new, corrupt one in its place.

The world before the rise of the various corporate conglomerate was by no means stable, as certain political and geopolitical events shook the foundation. Times were changing and changing fast. A change was looming in the future, people knew it was coming, but what many, Ichirou included was, just how quick it was.

What Ichirou remembered most of it all was just how quiet it was.

It what seemed like a blink of an eye, much of the old world order crumbled before the new government. No longer were politicians running the show, but rather the influential businessman and CEO's of corporate conglomerates. This new government sunk their teeth deep within Japan, and like a plague infecting and corrupting all. Their spread was so quick and seamless that no one could do anything to stop them.

Everything they once knew corroded away, as the world as a whole took another step towards a living hellscape.

Any action taking against them would be met with immediate and harsh punishment. Deterring any and all detractors. From there, they systematically rewrote everything, crushing all forms of opposition. None were more affected than the police force that once protected the streets. They were gutted, stripped of all they once were.

His dream job became nothing more than pencil pushing and busywork than actual enforcement of the law like what he had done in the past. Rarely did they even do any actual policing, merely patrols and the likes to keep up appearance. Before, they would go out of the way to seek out criminals or any suspicious individuals. Now, they hardly did any of that, in fact by the ruling of the department they were even ordered to ignore certain suspicious activities. Allowing ruffians roam free as they pleased.

It wasn't just the law, but the people too that changed. Everyone became colder, uncaring of their fellow man. There was a sense of complacently suffocating the world. Apathy choking the life out of everyone and everything. Everyone looking out for only themselves. With the common knowledge that the police as they were now, public safety and opinions only worsened.

The ruling corporation kept the police force around to deal with the more mundane criminal elements and activities but nothing more. They were neutered, and had no power to go against the new, corrupt government. In the end, they were forced to conform or else.

The once noble profession became a mockery of its proud roots. The motto of all police officers; to protect and serve was neutered. No longer were they protecting the people and the very laws they fought to serve and uphold were counterintuitive.

How funny, the laws that he fought to uphold in order to protect and keep the peace became the very chains that forced him and many others to heel.

They became police officers in name only.

Now and days, they were very few officers that shared Ichirou sentiments left. Most left, unable to accept the change and went elsewhere. Those that would replace them weren't fit to be called police officers. Officers now and days were merely young individuals that knew nothing before their times, the honor and tradition that came with being one to uphold the law. Or those taking the job because it was easy.

And Ichirou loathed it. But the cruel fact was, there was nothing no one could do but silently watch as the world changed around them.

He had served for a long time and saw the fall with his own eyes. He was there at the beginning and there during the fall and end of the noble profession. Ichirou witnessed with his own eyes the changing time and saw everything he once believed turned to ashes. It wasn't just himself, but many others that were equally passionate about their job as police officers were unhappy at what had happened.

Ichirou was far from pleased, but the aged officer knew he couldn't change anything even if he wanted to try. He, like many others, tried to fight against it for as long as they could. Eventually, however, they were forced to either accept the reality of the situation or looked for justice elsewhere.

It was clear which one he took.

Ichirou had seen happened to those that openly oppose and do not change their stance. Those too stubborn to change, they all disappear eventually.

Their reality was no different from the likes of a dystopian society in the pages of stories centuries ago. The worst had come to pass and Ichirou truly didn't know how to accept it. If not for himself, then to protect his family; his wife and child.

He acknowledged the reality of the situation, that his dreams and ideals as a Hero of Justice had no place in the new, cold world. However, deep within his heart he never fully accepted that fact. Ichirou still held onto the sliver of hope of what he once fought for and upheld.

It was why he was still an officer even after all the tribulations that faced him.

However, it was also in part because he was selfish. He didn't want to admit that the noble ideals that the policeman stood for was dead and gone. That his dream and beliefs weren't dead. Despite mounting obstacles, he clung onto them with delicate fervor. Trying to uphold his once loft beliefs. Ichirou wanted to believe there was some good out there, somehow, somewhere.

His stubbornness and faith in his ideals balanced precariously against reality and the cold truth of the world. And for years after they have maintained a precarious balance. A balance that would be tipped over in an event that nearly shattered him.

It came about sometime after Ainz Ooal Gown won the Tomb of Nazarick. There was a homeless man that hung about a block or so from their precinct. He would stand there, dirtied and begotten, asking for any donation. Most don't even give him a passing glance, uncaring of his plight and plea. All but Ichirou.

Every time he would go to work, he would always see and encounter the man. And he would always without fail offer him a little bit of money. For someone like Ichirou, he was much well off compared to everyone else and had to money to spare. It felt nice to do something good for someone else, even if the deed was as small as sparing some money.

After a while, it didn't take long before the two got to know each other more. The man wishing to acquaint himself with the only generous person he knew. Someone that didn't look at him as if he was filth. Over the few months, they learned more about one another, and Ichirou would almost call them friends.

Ichirou learned that before the man was homeless, he had a family of his own. A wife and child, the three of them lived in a relatively poor neighborhood. While their life was hard, they were content as long as they had one another. The story then took a dark turn when the man revealed that an incident occurred at the apartment building, they lived in. Apparently, a small time gang made a base in the same apartment complex.

A shoot out between the gang and the police occurred one day, and by the end of it, all about thirty people died in the ensuing firefight. His wife and children being one of the causalities. And the police, they just left as if the rest didn't concern them. From there, his life spiraled down and eventually, he was reduced to being homeless.

He blamed the officers for it all, blamed them for the death of his family, how if they were better their death could have been avoided, and how heartless they were not only to him but his plight. Simply because it wasn't part of their job. Ichirou could feel the hatred and vitriol as he described it all.

One day, the man asked Ichirou if there was ever a day he doesn't come into work. At the time the officer never gave the question much thought and answer him. On the day that he had a day off he received a call early in the morning, asking for him to come in to help cover a shift for someone. Agreeing, he left to head to the station and as he was nearing the precinct, the sounds of screaming and shouting echoed through the air. He raced as fast as he could, gun in hand for what was to come.

However, nothing could have prepared himself for what he saw.

There, standing in front of the station was a group of his fellow officers. All their guns pointed towards the homeless man Ichirou knew. Who had a gun of his own and was pressing against the head one of the officers he took as a hostage.

The reason why the man asked for when Ichirou wouldn't be at work was to spare him of what he was about to do that day. Ichirou would later learn that the man attacked the precinct, attacking one of the officers as he was walking on in with a shiv. Killing the man and stealing his gun. The attacker then attacked anyone and everyone within the station. Killing four more personnel and wounding another six. It eventually led to him grabbing one of the officers and using him as leverage and preventing the others from filling him with lead.

A square off ensued, where the police and the gunner were waiting for the other to make the first move. All the while he screamed, throwing all kinds of insults and spewing vitriol at the police. Ichirou saw it all happening, the frightened young man that he held captive, afraid and scared for his life. The tense and nervousness of his co-officers facing off against the man. Lastly, was the crazed glint in the man's voice. Ichirou could still remember the raw, burning bitterness in his voice as he screamed. Unleashing all his anger at them. All the while looking dangerously close to pulling the trigger and killing his hostage.

Ichirou came to a frightening realization; the man had no plan on actually making it out alive.

Tension only grew, and it seemed enviable that the man would pull the trigger and kill his hostage, and thus forcing the police to fire upon him. If Ichirou hadn't intervened that was.

From an angle that he couldn't spot Ichirou from. He was hidden and had a clean shot at the man. Had the situation been any different he wouldn't have hesitated, but he did.

Ichirou was beyond conflicted, two sides of himself raged within him trying to figure out what to do in the situation. The man was a victim. He knew and understood the man's plight, his anger, but that anger was misdirected. Those responsible for his tragedy weren't the officers he killed, nor the hostage he held. Ichirou would be the first admit that those he worked alongside with were not officers by his standards, but they were still innocent and were not at fault.

The man was lashing out, and he needed to be stopped, Ichirou knew that but that didn't make the decision any easier. Tension mounted as seconds ticked on by, the situation deteriorating ever faster. The internal debate stormed within his mind threatened to make him insane as he struggled to find an answer but couldn't.

There was no right answer, no decision that would result in a happy ending. If Ichirou didn't take the shot, then he would have allowed the young officer to die on his watch. And without a hostage, the man would die regardless, courtesy of the rest of the police officers. If he did take the shot, then they could have saved the young officer's life but at the cost of the men. And despite what he did, Ichirou couldn't find himself to hate the man.

There was no choice that would have resulted in everyone getting out alive.

The weight of all the decisions weighed heavily on him. His moral obligation vs his duty. Either way, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. All the while Ichirou felt utterly helpless.

The memory and decision were burned into his memory and would be with him until his end of days.

In the end, only a single shot was fired.

Ichirou had done it. He pulled the trigger and with one well-placed shot, killed the man. A quick and hopefully painless death. The body hit the ground with a thud, and the situation was all but over.

He remembered his body walking robotically out, his eyes locked onto the unmoving body of the man he would call a friend.

Everyone else was happy and celebrating, the young officer that was the hostage most of all. The atmosphere was cheerful. Everyone hailing him as a hero. Praising his name and giving them happy claps on the shoulder.

Ichirou didn't feel like a _Hero_ in that moment.

He had fought against criminals before, even killed a few in his line of duty and never truly batted an eye at their death. It was always circumstantial, rather cut-and-dry and lacked any real form of moral ambiguity. He was the good guy, they were the bad guy. Simple, easy.

But this time, things were different.

Guilt rocked him and filled with shame, as for the first time in his long carrier as law enforcement officer he killed an "innocent" man. A victim of circumstance and one out of both of their control.

The rational side of him told him that what was done, was done. But still, that wasn't good enough for the self-proclaimed hero. In the days to come, he pondered on it all, trying desperately to find an answer that could somehow make things all right. But the thing was, there wasn't an answer and Ichirou agonized over it until he reached out to someone. The only that could possibly understand his plight.

 **[—]**

The Tomb of Nazarick. Formerly an endgame dungeon, it now served as the headquarter of Ainz Ooal Gown. Where it once held six inhospitable floors, they have been expanded upon since the guild's conquest. Now, the base held within it ten floors reserved for its new masters.

The ninth floor was designed to house the various members of Ainz Ooal Gown. Tastefully decorated and stylized, it contained personalized dorms for the members of the guild.

Marching urgently, Shirou paid no attention to the decor, his mind occupied by his circumstance. The source of his haste? A message from none other than his friend, and the resident World Champion; Touch Me. The message was short and simple, unlike his usual boisterous self. "Could you meet me in my quarters? I...need help."

Three words he never thought he would hear from Touch Me, that caused his pace to quicken the smallest bit. Whatever it was that rattled the normally stalwart player, it had to be big.

With a final turn, Shirou's stride slowed till he arrived at a simple wooden door. On it was a golden nameplate that identified the room as Touch Me's. Standing at the door, Shirou braced himself for what was to come. With his mind set, he entered the room. It was well furnished and spacious, but a bit empty with only a few decorations and accessories for the room. Accommodating was the best way to describe Touch Me's personal abode. There, the silver paladin sat and waited in complete silence.

On the surface, it appeared everything was alright, but Shirou knew that was far from the truth.

Despite lacking finer facial details, Touch Me's avatar told a story. The hunched shoulders of one who had failed. The tilted head of one who was lost in thoughts. The lack of response to his entrance. Everything was screaming something was seriously wrong.

How many times had he seen these signs on the faces of his comrades and victims, Shirou wondered. How many times had he worn the same expression, that of a failure, of a man who had lost despite his best efforts?

It was disconcerting to see it once again and on someone like Touch Me. A man that, no matter the situation, always managed to project a smile and unrestrained exuberance in his words. That begged the question. Why would that man, who held a family and was in great standing, economically and otherwise, dare wear such a defeatist attitude?

Finally taking note of his presence, Touch Me turned to him, his movements sluggish.

"Ah… EMIYA-san, you came."

A sliver of worry wormed itself within his core, but he squashed it. The Fake Player's mind was already racing, meditating on how to approach his friend. No more than a second passed before he came to a decision. If he was correct in his assumption, his friend would need a strong hand, instead of pointless pity.

"You failed, haven't you?" Shirou asked immediately, forgoing any real form of tact and instead, tackling the problem directly.

"Am I so easy to read? Or is this another show of your incredible observations." A speck of surprised colored his next words, however, he remained largely melancholic.

For all the apathy the World Champion probably felt at the moment, he couldn't hope to hide the trace amount of frustration, guilt, and self-hate that remained prevalent in his tone. Touch Me was still responsive to outside stimuli. Good.

Now, he had to work on opening him up to conversation. If he wanted his future actions to help, he would need him to be flustered. And that meant riling the normally calm player up a bit.

"Neither, I could sense your angst from the other side of the guild. I almost thought you were Ulbert-san for a moment. So, out with it. What happened?"

As juvenile as the insult was, it still seemed to make Touch Me more responsive, annoyance becoming more apparent.

"Have you come to mock me? Well, I suppose I deserve it. I must look pathetic... life happened, Shirou. It came knocking at my door and I wasn't ready for her message. She's a cruel mistress, no?" Touch Me asked Shirou, whom remained silence at his rhetorical question.

His response was largely a diversion, trying to stall it out. Shirou knew this and hat wouldn't do. Touch Me had asked Shirou for help, and whether he likes it or not, he was going to his help. Fixing his friend with a firm look, he leaned into the wall and let a tense silence fill the room, waiting for the details of his problem.

Touch Me did not answer immediately, content to remain there. Yet, as it became clear that Shirou was waiting for an explanation, he finally relented and spoke somberly.

"I killed someone…" Touch Me said after a moment. His voice hollow in his confession.

"…I can only assume whoever it wasn't a criminal, was it?" Shirou carefully inquired.

A string of scenarios played in his head for what could have possibly led his friend into such a slump. The tension in the room skyrocketed as the silence returned back to fill the air. It was here that Touch Me retold what had happened to him. Explaining everything in perfect detail, but all in a voice that sounded dead to the world. There was no inflection in his voice as if the silver paladin was reciting everything from a sheet of paper. At the end, Shirou was left to muse on what his friend experienced.

Shirou fought a sigh at his friend's words. It seemed that he was indeed correct. Well, at least he seemed to have become more open. Now that he had a clear picture of what happened, he knew what to do next. He just hopes Touch Me could forgive him for what he was about to say, his actions might be cruel, but he only wished to help. And wasn't that the story of his life?

Suppressing a spike of self loathing for what was to come, Shirou projected every shred of annoyance he could muster. Projecting a bit of Archer into himself. No matter how distasteful this would be, he needed to snap Touch Me out of his own thoughts. He could always apologize later.

"Indeed, life is cruel. However, how is this news? Have you not seen the state of the world? Life is unfair, but I fail to see why that should be a reason to cry about it. People die everything day, such is life. And life continues onward and so should you."

For a moment, Touch Me seemed to freeze in shock. He had likely expected a comforting shoulder and an open ear from his friend. Not this… undo harshness.

Such words were more fitting for the likes of Ulbert and his usual cynicism than his normally considerate friend.

Growing incensed, Touch Me responded in kind.

"Move on?! What kind of answer is that!" He shouted back.

"The only answer available to you." Shirou calmly answered back, which only served to ruffle the silver swordsman up even further. "You can't change the past, not now, not ever. You must move on from this Touch Me-san."

"Move on…as if that's easy! All my life, I've strived to be a hero! An ideal of justice, that took down the villain and saved the innocent! Yet… yet… I killed that man, EMIYA-san! A man down on his luck, who I spoke to every day! A man who I could consider a good person and friend! He didn't deserve it! And yet… and yet, I shot him. I didn't have a choice. He had hostages and I couldn't let them die. So, I killed him. Are you telling me that I should just move on? Forget that man and my actions that led to him disappearing from the world?! Don't fuck with me!"

Touch Me rose from his seat, his fist slamming against the table he had previously rested his arms on. While a part of him wanted to cringe at his sheer tactfulness, his need to help his friend won out.

No matter how harsh it was, this method had been employed by others to snap him out of his pity parties, and he had used it in kind. Its effectiveness, however, could never overshadow his dislike for it.

Swallowing the apology that he wished to utter, he responded to the outrage in an uncharacteristic matter.

"Don't put words in my mouth! I never told you to forget and I never would! What I said, was that you have to move on. You took an innocent life. But, what else could you have done? You did your duty as an officer of the law, Touch Me-san. Is there a way you could have solved the issue peacefully? And don't disillusion yourself by thinking that you could have! Think about it, and tell me, was there another way?" Shirou challenged.

The two stared angrily at one another, neither one backing down from their stance. For a moment, it looked like Touch Me wouldn't listen. But, a trace of consideration broke through his rage, letting him think about the presented question. Not that it was difficult to see the answer. After all, had he not thought about it for hours on end, already? So, he spoke, as if though his words were poison. Bitter and disgusting, admitting his failure hurt.

"No, I couldn't have." He admitted.

As if saying the words cemented them in reality, he fell back into his seat. The fire of his rage dimmed by the downpour of grief that swept throughout him.

In the calm that came from Touch Me's acceptance, Shirou took the initiative.

"Touch Me-san…" Shirou began, his voice softening. He slowly walked up to him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. For despite it all he understood exactly what his friend was thinking and going through. Shirou had once done the same as well.

"You did your best, and no one can blame you for that. You did kill him, but in doing so you prevented him from taking another life. You saved your co-officer from needlessly dying. Sometimes…sometimes the correct decision doesn't always mean it's the right one. All you can do is accept it and move on."

Touch Me remained silent, his armored avatar revealing nothing of the inner turmoil and tempestuous thoughts raging in his head. After what seemed to be an eternity Touch Me responded. With a huge deep breath, the silver knight breathed a solemn sigh. He stood up suddenly, knocking Shirou's hand off his shoulder.

"If only it was truly that simple my friend…" Touch Me intoned cryptically.

Without another word, he walked away from the table and from Shirou. The magus kept quiet and watched as the Heteromorphic player approached a hanging tapestry. It wasn't any ordinary piece of decoration as it depicted the initial insignia of Nine's Own Goal. Which served as the prototype and would be later modified as the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown as a whole.

Touch Me gently ran his hand across the virtual fabric. Shirou kept his distance and waited for him.

"Touch Me-san…" Shirou softly called out to him, hoping that he would reciprocate. Which he did, but not in the manner the humanoid player expected.

"Ever since I could remember, I've always wanted to be a Hero of Justice. I grew up on hundreds of stories, both real and fictional. Everyone enjoys a good story of heroes and villains, of good and evil. But in a lot of ways, it was my family that inspired me the most." Touch Me began. Surprising Shirou at the suddenness of the topic

Shirou kept back and quiet, waiting to see where this would go as the paladin began revealing his past.

"Everyone on my father's side of the family had served in one form or fashion. We have our roots all the way back to the Second World War. Be it in the military, the JFD, or even officers of the law. Everyone from my father, my grandfather, my great-great-grandfather, and his father before him. You could say it's a time honored tradition. It's in our blood to serve and protect.

I grew up on stories, everything from fairy tales and fiction of heroes and villains, rescuing the damsel in distress and saving the day. To the stories of the noble deeds my forefathers performed. Protecting the innocent, saving others, and more. However, it was the stories involving my father that truly captivated. He a police officer himself and a damn good one at that.

My mother would tell me every night, of the good my father was doing in his absence. He was my hero. Far from those of legend, he was a man who looked at the world and decided to change it. Make it better. Make it greater. I was starstruck. Inspired even. My father was such a great man and his blood flowed through me? It seemed only fitting I followed in his steps.

So, I did. I would wake up every day to help. Spending hours on hours being the busybody of the neighborhood. Cats? Rescued. Bikes? Fixed. Lost? Recovered. It was tiring and yet, I could never complain. The gratitude I received were a good enough reward, the smiles on those I help all the fuel I needed to continue. It was only a matter of time before I decided to follow in my father's footsteps. Working tirelessly until I was enrolled in the most prestigious police academy.

For as long as I've breathed and dreamed, I've always wanted to be a Hero. Just like my father and eventually, I finally reached my dream. I could still remember the day of my graduation. How happy they looked. I had finally become an officer of my own. A hero that would make the streets a better and safer place from the likes of rogues and scoundrels that would harm others and disturb the peace. And for a time, all was right in the world."

Touch Me delivered, his voice filled with forlornness, with a melancholic smile and an unfocused gaze. Shirou even detected a small hint of joy as he reminisced. A hint of Touch Me's usual self shining through.

Touch Me could still picture in his mind the warm smiles his parents gave him as he accepted his certificate. How happy tears streaked down their cheeks as they gave him congratulatory hugs and said how proud they were. In honor and in celebration of such a momentous occasion father passed onto Touch Me his old officer cap. The very same one that accompanied him throughout the years of service.

Gratitude couldn't even begin to describe the feeling of it all. Touch Me swore he would make them proud. And for a time, Touch Me/Ichirou felt truly content.

He took the next step to become someone that would help others, just like his father. He was closer to becoming a _Hero_.

"While I am touched that you shared this with me, but that doesn't make it any clear what's wrong." Shirou politely cut in, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Right, right. Sorry about that EMIYA-san." Touch Me chuckled, his voice wistful.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't last as the mood turned grim for what came next.

"However, those happy times wouldn't last. The world was changing, I knew it, but I couldn't change with it. I tried to fight it, but I failed! For all my talk about being a paragon of virtue and a good person, I never learned to take my own damn advice! What are words, without actions! Lies, that's is what they are, and a liar is what they make me! I tried, God knows I tried.

When everything was going to hell and what I believed in was falling apart, I fought. I fought against the reforms and the corruptions. If not publicly, then privately, doing whatever good I could. But... it never ended. For every law I managed to upkeep, a dozen was broken. Over and over, I tried. Yet, it never stopped. At the end of that road, all I found was a cubicle and paycheck. I wasn't upholding justice for a dream, I did it just because I had to and for the money. There was no passion in my action, merely going through the motion.

And I **hated** it." Touch Me finished.

There was a hint of an emotion in his voice, one emotion that Shirou or anyone else for that fact, has never heard him speak in before or ever. One foreign to their normally spirited friend.

Anger. And it was building up as Touch Me continued.

"I clung to my ideals refusing to believe they were truly gone. I told myself that I would keep on fighting because it was the right thing to do. That they weren't false but in reality, it was because I was selfish. I didn't want to accept that my dreams, my ideals became nothing more than a fool's errand. I couldn't accept such a cruel reality. Try as I might to circumvent the truth, it eventually caught up to me.

When I finally accepted the truth, I was lost. I—I didn't know what to do. In the end, I ran away. Like a coward, I ran away from both the truth and reality.

It was because of my cowardice that led me to discover YGGDRASIL in the first place. It became my escape from it all. I saw that there was unchecked injustice within the virtual world, just like in the real world. I wanted to do something about it all, to fight back and help others. And the thing was, I could, and I did! For the first time in a long time I felt like I was actually making a difference.

Unlike in the real world, I was truly free to make my own decisions! YGGDRASIL gave me hope again, hope that I could help others! Save Players from those that would attack others for personal gain or enjoyment! Defend others that couldn't defend themselves. I could finally do some actual good in the world, even if it was a virtual one. I could finally continue being a true Hero of Justice!

I indulged myself in the game, devoting almost all of my time to this world. I learned all that I could to be stronger, faster, and better so that I could help and protect others from those that couldn't protect themselves. Striving until eventually achieving the rank and strength of a World Champion. It was all so I could continue on my path as Hero of Justice in this world. It all so that I could tell myself, my ideals still mattered!"

Touch Me raved with righteous indignation. Shirou could feel the vehemence in his voice.

It was unlike a raging fire that burns uncontrollably at everything. Rather, it was a cold fury. Narrowed and directed at one singular source that was the target of his anger. At the cruel reality, the corrupt government, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, but above all else; directed at himself.

The anger and self-loathing wouldn't last as the flame of anger was soon doused for what was to come next.

"I was the ideal image of me, but it was just that. An image. A fair to distract me, but... what good has that done me? For no matter how beautiful the illusion may be, it could never be real. All this time, I was just playing pretend. No matter how much I tried to distract myself or running away from it, not a day goes by where I'm not reminded of the reality I live in. In all my time spent dreaming, lives were lost. And I couldn't stop it. I'm a hypocrite who gave up. I'm no Hero. I'm a Fake."

Touch Me ended it there. There was a level of quiet acceptance in his words as Touch Me revealed his innermost thoughts to Shirou.

Several moments of silence passed between the two. Touch Me was slowly regaining his breath and bearing after his long, and impromptu confession. A part of him debated whether it was right for him to share with Shirou. While they were friends, it was his burden to bear, not anyone else's. He had always been a bit stubborn in that regard. But he wouldn't deny the small sense of relief that came with it. At the very least, it lifted some of the weight off his shoulders. Leaving him in a cathartic state afterward.

"A hypocrite..." Shirou repeated quietly to himself.

It seemed that it wasn't just Touch Me that was lost in thought and finally, it was Shirou's turn.

"Well, that's certainly one way to look at things. And to a certain extent, you are right. If we look at things objectively, then yes, your actions and beliefs can be seen a hypocritical. But I have a better word in mind then hypocrite."

Touch Me said nothing, but simply turned his head towards him showing that he was still listening and curious.

"You are human Touch Me-san." Shirou stated simply and resolutely.

"Human…?" Touch Me repeated, a mixture of curiosity and confusion in his voice.

"Let me ask you this. What do you think a Hero really is? A paragon of virtue? No, if that was the case than Greek wouldn't have so many. A powerful individual? No, if that was the case then no mortal would qualify. A wise man perhaps? No, if that was the case than Nordic tales wouldn't exist." Shirou listed, drawing Touch Me further in.

"If none of these things make a hero, then what does? The answer is; nothing. Nothing makes a hero. A man could lift a mountain, trick a god, and donate his wealth to the less fortunate. Yet, does that make him a hero? No, it does not. It makes him an oddity. A human with traits that few carries, but ultimately, still a mortal. Then, what elevates children, men, and women? Themselves, that is the answer."

His hand closed into a fist as Shirou lightly pound it on his chest, right where his heart was. Touch Me mimicked him, a hand pressing against his silver armor just above his heart.

The hardest lesson Shirou learned on his journey to becoming a hero of justice was learning how to choose. After the Fifth Holy Grail War, he knew he could not save everyone but that didn't mean he wouldn't try and save as many people as possible. It was this that began his journey into Hell.

The lives of the many or the lives of the few. Such a simple prospect but one with near infinite ramifications. If one had to choose between saving either a few lives or saving many lives, logic dictate that the lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few. But then, what happens upon further scrutinization?

Do the lives of a dozen or so kids, no older than ten, outweigh the lives of a hundred adults? Or vice versa.

What about the lives of a few talented doctors, whom have the capabilities of helping hundreds versus the lives of prisoner of wars?

Which is more important, choosing to defend hundreds of refugees made up of countless torn families or protecting several VIPs?

Countless 'what ifs' mire the once simplistic question into a morally ambivalent one. In the end, there's no definitive right or wrong answer. There was no true way to justify picking one over the other. It all depends on those making these hard decisions. At the end of the day, it the only one that can judge if the decision one makes was indeed right or not, is themselves.

For the world only made sense if they make it so.

The hardest lesson of all for Shirou was learning to choose and accept the choices he made. Accepting the finality of it. To save as many people as he could, and come to grip with the fact that sometimes he wouldn't be able to save others. For that was all he could do, make the decision to the best of his ability and believe it was the right decision to make. Or else he would go mad with guilt and break just like how Archer did.

Shirou's mind couldn't help but wander back to Archer, his alternate future self. His words especially. Choosing to save one would mean damning another. It doesn't matter which one was saved because saving everyone was impossible. How many times had Archer been forced to make the same decision Shirou had until it finally broke him? Until he grew jaded and spiteful at it all.

That was the fatal flaw in Archer's ideal, and Shirou could see a glimpse of it in Touch Me's.

The world was flawed, and there was no such thing as a true Hero of Justice. Archer's failure was that he couldn't accept that fact until it was all too late. He was tormented and broke striving for an impossible dream.

That was the difference between Shirou and Archer.

Shirou accepted the flaws in his long time ideals and the truth that he couldn't save the world, but that was no reason to give up on them. For even if his ideals were flawed, they were still beautiful and worth striving for. While he may never reach his goal, he would never regret the path he chose. Shirou never forgot why he began his journey in the first place.

This was the lesson Touch Me needed to come to grips and come to accept.

"Touch Me-san, I want you to answer this question and I want you to think very carefully on the answer."

Touch Me nodded, showing he heard and understood.

"For what purpose was it that made you wish to become a police officer in the first place?" Shirou asked of him.

"Purpose…? Well…I guess, it was because I saw many people that would try to use and exploit others for their own gains, I wished to put a stop to them. To make the street a safer place for everyone." Touch Me answered.

"A good answer, but ultimately not the answer I was looking for."

Touch Me blinked at Shirou's response. The insectoid warrior reviewed what he said in his head, wondering what mistake if any, he made for Shirou to reject his answer.

"Again, what drives you to help others? For what reason would you call yourself a _Hero_?" Shirou rephrased the question.

Touch Me felt his brows furrowing in confusion. Despite the rewording, the question essentially stayed the same to him. He answered again, this time throwing in the added reason of honoring his parents and wishing to honor the work police once did and stood for. Only to be met with the same exact answer from Shirou. Drawing a hint of frustration from the player, but he kept it under control.

Touch Me was missing something, but the question was what was it?

"I do not understand, what is wrong with my answers. What are you trying to get me to say, EMIYA-san?" Touch Me voiced.

"I'm afraid that's something you must find out by yourself Touch Me-san. They're good answers, but they are all **motives** , not **reasons**." Shirou explained.

"Aren't those the same things?." The silver paladin pointed out. To him, there was no difference but to Shirou, it made a world of difference.

"Then, let me help clarify. You see people in trouble, and you wish to help them. That is a **motive** , an incentive to act. Every motive requires a **reason** ; the why. The basis, that which fuels a person with the desire to see the motive through. You must strip away everything until you are left with only the core essence. It is something intrinsic, that which drives us into action. For all of our actions, logical and at other times illogical, have a purpose behind them. _Why_ we do what we do.

Anyone can say they wish to be a hero, or astronaut, or even something like a celebrity. But it is the **reason** behind that is truly telling. For an astronaut, they would wish to go to space; to reach pass the endless sky. But, it's because of a sense of curiosity and wonder that drove them to reach the stars. A celebrity would wish to be famous and rich; to have his name known and his future financially secured. Validation, a sense of accomplishment, or even because of their greed. For all reasons, good or bad, are in their very nature; simple and straightforward.

For that is what I'm asking you, Touch Me-san. Why?!" Shirou asked.

In the face of such questions Touch Me found himself stumbling for a moment. A ringing sensation reverberated in his head, small and slow at first it persisted. He desperately tried finding the answer, but every time the insectoid warrior believed he found it the sensation would spike.

"Why do you wish to help people and why do you go out of your way to do so? Because it's your job because that's what you're supposed to do? Perhaps it's the feeling of gratitude for doing something good? To have someone praise your actions and deed, for validation? Or maybe even from a sense of boredom, and the wish to quench it. Or maybe it's the money, and ensuring a financially stable future for yourself and your family?

Why did you offer aid to that man when you could have easily ignored him? Why do you go out of your way to help others in YGGDRASIL? Why do you feel the need to defend players from PKers?

For what drove you to strive to become a _Hero_ in the first place, Touch Me?!" Shirou challenged.

The fake player pressed forward unrelentingly in his question, giving Touch Me no reprieve as his mind slowly spiraled out of control trying to find the elusive answer.

Touch Me clutched his head, trying to quell the head-splitting feeling from taking over. A sense of vertigo overtook him as his mind was a maelstrom of wild thoughts. The room spiraled around him, rumbling into a storm. Shirou's questions rung in his mind as he struggled to find the true answer both Shirou and himself were looking for. Only to come up short, time and time again. Each one frustrating him even further.

He searched and searched, but every answer he found wasn't enough. He was overlooking something. Something extremely fundamental, that one crucial fact.

Because of his family? His environment? How he was taught and raised? So many questions and possibilities, yet they weren't anywhere close to the truth.

 _'Why…?!'_ Touch Me screamed in his mind, his eyes snapped shut and his teeth clenched. The headache only grew worse.

Why?

Why did he strive to become a Hero of Justice?

Why?

To help people, to make things better.

Why?

But why? What purpose did it serve?

WHY—

 _Crying. He could hear crying. A boy turned, seeing a girl around his age crying on the ground, her knee scrapped and bleeding a little. Without hesitation he walked over to her and knelt before her._

 _'Hop on.' He said to her, presenting his back to her._

 _The next moment the two children were walking away, the boy carrying the girl on her back. The girl managed to stop crying, sniffing as she peeked at the boy that was carrying her. Eventually, she spoke up._

 _'Why did you help me?'_

 _The boy looked back at her and hummed before looking up at the sky. A few seconds passed before he spoke again._

 _'I don't really know. You were crying and I wanted to help so you wouldn't cry anymore. So, I did.' He answered, looking back at her and flashing her a happy grin._

 _The girl blushed, hiding her face into his back so that he wouldn't get to see her face at the moment._

 _'Thank you.' She muttered out._

 _'You're welcome!' The boy returned with a wide smile._

 _A small, meek smile formed as she relaxed against his back, feeling safe and content. The two continued on their way, forging onwards._

—Touch Me froze. Not on in body but also in mind. His mind was completely clear, like an undisturbed pond. The cacophony of doubt and insecurities was gone, replaced with a tranquil zen.

He finally understood what Shirou was truly looking for.

Touch Me had come to realize—No, that was incorrect. He did not stumble upon this, nor did he come to realize what was wrong. Rather he remembered. Touch Me remembered **why**.

Why did he help people? Why he strove to become a Hero?

It was so simple. It had always simple. Touch Me helped others because…

"…I want to help others. For no other reason than because I can…" Touch Me whispered both to reaffirm it with himself but also for Shirou.

"And what's wrong with that?" Shirou smiled at his friend's answer. He had finally realized what he was overlooking.

Touch Me ideals were very much similar to Shirou's own, but they **weren't** the same.

For there lies in one crucial distinction.

Touch Me wasn't Archer, nor Shirou.

Shirou inherited his ideals from Kiritsugu. He strove to be a hero, similar to how his father saved him. He could still remember the raw, but beautiful smile as Kiritsugu held his broken body. He was captivated by it and strove to one day do the same for someone else. Shirou wanted to save people with a smile on his face, just like Kiritsugu when he saved him from that burning hell all those years ago. That was why he began his journey to becoming a Hero.

Shirou perused this journey because he wanted to Hero because he wanted to save anyone and everyone he could, just like Kiritsugu. That was his reason.

Touch Me, on the other hand, was a similar case, but far less grandiose. Whether it be something as insignificant as giving spare change to a destitute man or something momentous such as saving a life. He suffered no tragedy that would inspire him towards the pursuit of a Hero, rather it was because for all his worth. Touch Me was simply an ordinary man. He perused his journey because he simply wanted to help others and for no other reason than because he could.

One wanted to **save** lives; anyone and everyone they could, the other wanted to **help** anyone and everyone possible.

On the surface, the connotation was near identical and to a certain extent, they were. However, where they differ was to their own. Being a Hero was merely a modus for Touch Me to accomplish this. Take that away, and nothing changed. For he still could do good even if he wasn't a ' _Hero_ '.

Touch Me wasn't just a _Hero_.

No.

For all his actions, his motives. At the end of the day, Touch Me was human.

He was an ordinary man. A good man in fact. A good man with good intentions.

Touch Me was a good man that wanted nothing more but to do good and help others whenever he could and wherever he could. There was no complexity to his motives nor any sense of ambition or hidden purpose. Much like how Shirou was back in the days as the 'Homurahara's Brownie.'

There was an almost inexplicably simplicity to it to his ideals. Like the innocent and sincere logic of a child. And yet, there was something inherently beautiful about it.

Touch Me did good for goodness sake. Nothing more and nothing less.

For as he once proclaimed and vowed to all, " **Saving someone who is in trouble is common sense**!"

Touch Me was silent for a few moments, reeling from the revelation he has reminded of. While it brought with it hope, there was still the lingering doubt and shame that plagued his mind.

"B-but…What I've done…How could I possibly justify it…?" He asked aloud.

"They don't." Shirou rebuked instantly, his voice for the first time becoming firm in his approach. Snapping at Touch Me out just before the tendrils of guilt hooked back onto him.

"Maybe you are right, you're not a Hero like you believed, or the ideal cop you once were and wish to be. But so, what? A hypocrite you may be, but you are still human. A man with good intentions and no one can fault you for that Touch Me-san. You cannot forever blame yourself for something that was completely out of your control.

What about the good you've done before the change? Are they invalidated? What about all those you helped within YGGDRASIL. Are you saying they don't matter as well? Were those you helped and protected worth nothing in the end?" Shirou challenged.

"…No…" Touch Me muttered, a hint of resoluteness in his statement.

"Exactly.

The past is the past, and there's not a thing we can truly do to change what has already happened. It is the future that we must look forward to. Life is far too fleeting to chain yourself down to misgiving and forces out of your control.

We've all made mistakes, that's simply a part of life. I've made a lot of mistakes of my own, far too many to count and yet I can remember them as clear as day. I once dreamed and believed in saving everyone, good or bad. That all lives were equal. The hardest lesson I learned that sometimes in order to save lives, I must take lives as well. It was a bitter pill to swallow, going against everything I once believed in. And despite it all, I kept on marching forward. Saving and protecting others as best I could, even if it means taking the lives of those that would harm others.

Do you know why?

It's because I accepted everything for what it was and is, and still believed in my ideals; the good of it. Even when I doubt it all, I remind myself of why I acted in the first place. I never forget why I chose the path I did. All the good I've done and **can** do.

You aren't a hero of legend. You, Touch Me-san, are a good person. A good person who wished to do more than he could realistically have done. And, in the process of chasing the impossible, you fell short. But that doesn't mean you can't get right back up. Even now, you're still striving for your ideals despite it all. No one will think any less of you for trying."

Shirou calmly walked towards Touch Me as he spoke, whom remained rooted in place in deep thought at his words. Reaching him, he gently reached out and clasped him on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Ichirou." Shirou said with a gentle voice, calling the World Champion by his true name.

"It's ok." Two simple words and yet the meaning behind them was innumerable. Shirou said no more, for there was no that needed to be said.

All was silent within the room and it persisted for a few tense minutes. For a moment Shirou wondered if something had happened to Touch Me as he was unnaturally still; content to stand there like a statue. Heck, Shirou couldn't even hear or sense him breathing for a moment. Until he heard something he could describe as a mix between wheezing and labored breathing. It was also as if he was trying to let something out but was forcing it down.

Shirou knew immediately what it was.

"It's ok." He repeated in a tender voice, urging him forward.

A trembling hand rose and grabbed onto Shirou's shoulder as Touch Me leaned forward, resting his body against Shirou's. His other hand reached for his chest, his finger clinging fruitlessly against the smooth, impeccable armor as if trying to find some measure of grip. His entire body trembled as the sounds he was making earlier grew louder and louder.

And then, Touch Me cried.

At that moment, Touch Me; The World Champion of Álfheimr and one regarded by friends and enemies alike as an indomitable individual broke down. In that moment, he wasn't Touch Me of Yggdrasil.

Merely a man; Ichirou Yukanna.

He let out a piercing, strangled cry. One that emanated from the very bottom of his heart. All those years of carrying a responsibility he had no place carrying. All those years of enduring ridicule for his actions. All those years of bottling his grief and putting a strong font. The weight and pressure of chasing an impossible dream and extensional feeling of failure. A self-imposed curse.

As Shirou said, it was ok. His dream, his ideals, they weren't worthless.

All the anger, sorrow, regret, loneliness, it all poured forth from Touch Me. Every emotion he tried repressing over the years came flooding out as he allowed him to cry to his heart's content. He no longer needed to feel ashamed. His cry echoed throughout the room like an amphitheater and was almost deafening, fortunately, it was only the two of them to bear witness to Touch Me's moment of weakness.

He cried and cried and cried some more. Until his voice grew slowly hoarse and his leg trembled and looked ready to give way had Shirou not helped and kept him from collapsing. There the two stood, Shirou remaining respectfully quiet and offering his support and shoulder for Touch Me to cry on. Giving him pats on the back occasionally. Touch Me let himself soak in the comfort of a kindred soul as his cries turned to sobs.

It took about an hour before Touch Me regained his bearings and composed himself. Even then, he was still emotional. The two separated, facing one another once more.

"I—I'm s-sorry you h-had to s-see t-tha…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about Touch Me-san. If anything, it just proves my point. Crying only proves you are indeed human." Shirou gently, but firmly interrupted.

"R-right…s-sorry." Touch Me chuckled lightly at the end realizing what he did.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-yes…I'll be fine." Touch Me answered back, his voice hitching a little as he was still recovering from what had happened. "I am feeling much better now than I was before. Truly. So, thank you, EMIYA-san. You've given me a lot to think about."

"Of course, what are friends for? Also, if I may make a suggestion. You're married right, Touch Me-san."

The silver knight blinked at the sudden question.

"Yes, I am."

"Then maybe allow me to trouble you with a small request."

Confused, but nevertheless curious, Touch Me nodded.

"Try talking to your wife about it. I'm sure your wife would also understand your plight if you talked to her about it. I may be your friend, but they are your family. They'll be there for you the support that I could not."

Hearing Shirou's suggestion, Touch Me felt a bit stumped at the suggestion. Not at the idea itself, but rather how simple it was. He never told his wife for he believed it was his burden to bear alone, which feed into the cycle of him turning to YGGDRASIL in order to alleviate himself. While far from neglectful, he could be doing a better job at being a husband and father to his wife and daughter. As he thought more about it, the idea had some merit.

"I'll try." Touch Me answered.

Shirou nodded, satisfied. "If you also want, you could also take some time off and spend it with your family and to relax. This is a delicate process, so take as much time as you need before you're back and ready. I can easily talk with Momonga-san and the others and cover for you if need be."

"I appreciate your concern my friend, but I'm not made out of glass. You're not going to get rid of me that easily. Besides, if I disappear then that means I'll be leaving my sidekick with all the work." Touch Me responded, a tinge of playfulness in his words.

"Sidekick?!" Shirou asked back with a certain level of incredulousness in his voice at what he just heard.

"Well of course. Considering I was going around helping and protecting Heteromorphic Players way before you, that means I hold seniority."

"Seniority? Please." Shirou snorted.

A second later the two broke out in laughter, the jest between the two offering some levity to the somber situation and lightened the spirits of the two players. As the laughter died down, they were left silent once more.

"Shirou…" The voice of the World Champion called out.

"Touch Me-san? What is—" The magus cut himself off as when he turned back to face his friend. Touch Me had closed the distance and embraced him. Giving him one big hug.

"Thank you." The World Champion whispered.

Shirou's stiffened before he relaxed, and he returned his friend's hug.

"Any time." He answered.

"Anything else?" Shirou asked the two separated.

"Not that I can think up of at the moment. I think that's it, so I'll probably log off now and take your suggestion."

Touch Me operated his menu and with his finger just right on top of the log off button, Shirou called out to him one last time. He turned to him as the magus was about to impart on him one last regard.

"Take it from one hero to another, it is never wrong to help people, but never let it cloud your view of those who matter the most. Your loved ones who make your life worth living, who you could not imagine a life without. Take it from an old man who lived through it. A live without your family, is a Hell worse than any other."

With his piece said, Shirou disappeared in a flash of light using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to teleport away. Alone, Touch Me recounted all that Shirou had spoken about and nodded to himself. Hitting the button, he logged off and pondered on the course his life was now set towards.

* * *

Left alone, Youta remained silent trying to calm himself after his speech. Nothing but his wheezing to fill the air as the salaryman was left with no choice but to wait. A number of scenarios played in his head as he was left alone in the room. From his speech offending Ichirou so much so that he decided to leave him here. Or maybe even perhaps passing him along to his co-officers. Or maybe even something worse!

Safe to say he didn't exactly have the best opinions of his guildmate at the moment. Youta had imagined a number of things but Ichirou walking in, a few minutes later, with a bottle of water and a cup in his free hand wasn't one of them.

"Here. You look like you need this." Handing over the bottle of water to Youta, Ichirou sat in his own chair across from him. Taking a sip out of his cup, coffee if the salaryman had to guess by the rising steam from the cup and distinctive smell.

Youta said nothing but graciously took the water and drank it all in one go. The refreshing cooled drink satisfying his parched throat.

"…Thanks…" Youta begrudgingly whispered his gratitude for the drink.

"You're welcome, Youta-san." The corners of Ichirou's lips twitched upwards hearing his comrade's thanks. Something that was quite rare to hear especially from one another.

The room descended into silence once again, the mood and atmosphere still and unsure after such a speech. Youta looked back to Ichirou whom was content to gaze down upon his coffee cup. As if the swirling brown liquid had the answer he was seeking.

"Youta-san…" Ichirou said. Youta had his moment, now it was his turn. "I acknowledge and accept your arguments and anger." The police officer bowed his head in admission, surprising the salaryman.

Ichirou reached for his badge and unpinned it. Holding it up for both of them to see.

"You are right, the justice that police officers once fought to uphold is gone. We're nothing more than a husk of our former selves. Almost as bad as those that run the corporation that ruined your life and the ones that perverted this once noble occupation. Even I am guilty of that which I once proclaim would never do, as well as condemning others for their less than scrupulous ways. Aye, I will not deny that you are right, Youta-san. My dream, my ideal as a cop and a hero of justice, whom would bring peace and justice to all, is in a way, nothing more than a childish dream." Ichirou grimly admitted.

Hearing this, the salaryman couldn't hold back the surprise and curiosity showed on his face. Youta honestly never believed that there would come a day where he expected the proud, self-proclaimed hero of justice to admit to his own faults and defy his proud ideals.

"But…" Ichirou continued, showing that he wasn't done just yet. "Even so, this still means something. If not to you then to me. This badge still represents something, all the good that was once done in the name of justice and what it can still do. Call me a fool or an idiot, I will bear any insult you will throw at me. But I will not stand for you disrespecting what this once stood for. And so long as I still draw breath, I will still try and follow my ideals until my final days on this earth."

Youta's face twisted as he looked upon the content expression on his rival's face.

"You still cling to a clearly outdated and impossible ideal in such a corrupted world. Even when you just admitted how hypocritical they are? You really are the biggest fool in the world!" He ridiculed.

"Maybe." He nonchalantly admitted which only infuriated Youta even further.

Ichirou turned his attention back to the badge, gently running his thumb over the symbol. Nostalgia clouded his eyes as he remembered back to his childhood. A more innocent time, where the ideal of a being a hero was planted within him. Cultivating throughout the years, becoming a desire more than anything else. As well as the heart-felt conversation with Shirou who directed him towards a better path.

"Aye, I will admit that you are right Youta-san. Humans are selfish people, and so am I. My ideals are flawed but so what, all ideals have a fatal flaw when you look at it critically enough. After all, no one wants to hear that their life's ideals and values are wrong." Ichirou rhetorically put out.

"I know I am selfish, but I cannot help it. I cannot find the heart, nor the strength to throw it away. You may be right about how my ideal is impossible but that doesn't mean they are worthless!"

Looking at his fellow guildmate, Youta couldn't help but be taken aback the resoluteness shining in Ichirou's eyes.

"Just because something is impossible doesn't mean it's not worth chasing after. Just as I said before, this badge still represents something. The good it once held so long ago, the inspiration it passed onto others, and the good that can still be done. I know my dream of being a true hero of justice is impossible to reach and I have finally come to accept that fact. But that is no excuse for me to stop now. In the end, I made my choice a long time ago, to still follow after it despite all the setbacks. I can at least stay true to that and remain content knowing that I've helped people in one form or another.

 **Because it's not wrong to help someone, anyone, in need!** " Ichirou proclaimed with all his heart.

Hearing this Youta was stunned. A myriad of emotions conflicted as he contemplated Ichirou admission. He tried to muster up something, anything to respond back and yet he couldn't. Despite acknowledging and admitting that his ideal was little more than a farce the naïve fool still clung to them. Rationalizing it in another form. He wanted to call him out, scream that he was a moron, a fool, that his belief was nothing short but in vain.

And yet…

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

For a brief moment, another individual came to mind. The image of someone else appeared, superimposing over Ichirou. Heterochromatic eyes burned bright and Ulbert was reminded of something.

Whether it was because of some modicum of respect for his heteromorphic guildmate and all they've been through or something else entirely. A small part of Youta couldn't help but acknowledge his resolve in the face of adversary.

To chase after the impossible, knowing full well the lengths for it will drive a person to go. But he would not allow it to rule him, to dictate his life. It was equally foolish as it was admirable in some respect.

Unlike his own beliefs and ideals, which were built on hatred for the status quo and fickle beyond belief.

In the end, he said nothing. Silence taking over the room once more as the two were content to bask in the moment. Left to their own thoughts and muses as the two had no idea where to go from there.

It would be Youta that would bring up another topic of discussion.

"I gotta ask, since when the hell did you change your tune?" He asked. "You had a revelation or some shit?"

"I had some help actually. It was thanks to Shirou's stern words that finally drew back towards the right path." Ichirou revealed, calling their mutual friend by his real name.

"EMIYA-san?" Youta muttered under his breath.

Hearing this, Ichirou quietly took notice of how Youta addressed the name of their mutual comrade. Filing away that little piece of information for later.

"Indeed. He and I once sat down and had a long, heart to heart chat about what it means to be a _Hero_." Ichirou continued on.

"EMIYA-san was the first to point the flaws in my ideals. At the time I was heavily disheartened, trying to justify them at any cost and for every point I made, and he would counter them and shut my argument down entirely. But he did not condemn as I had originally thought. EMIYA-san taught me that while something may be impossible to reach it doesn't mean one shouldn't strive for it. My ideals may be selfish but there is nothing wrong with perusing it. I can still be a hero of justice, I can still help others whether it be in YGGDRASIL or in real life. At the same time, however, I should not be blind to their faults. Move forward but never forget for why you are striving for your dreams."

Hearing how Ichirou spoke of Shirou, the gratitude and respect in his voice as he spoke, Youta couldn't help but think on him as well. The salaryman could tell that his words weren't vapid, and he truly meant them. On the surface, it may appear as if Ichirou never truly learned his lesson as the belief he holds now has barely changed from before. To an extent that was true, but he had changed, however small it was still greatly affirmed his new outlook on both life and his ideals.

Youta couldn't help but laugh a little. Ichirou paused mid-sip of his coffee, a single eyebrow raised at the sudden and odd reaction of his guildmate.

"It always comes back to him. The sword spamming idiot. You, Momonga-san, the bird brain and his sister, hell just about everyone." Youta commented.

"Indeed. He does have a way with people, doesn't he? And I see that I wasn't the only one that he changed for the better."

A look of surprise crossed his face before Youta wrestled it under control. Slapping back on his apathetic gaze.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He countered, which only amused Ichirou further in his denial.

"Try and hide as you might, Youta-san but we both know the truth. It's not all that surprising really, considering how long EMIYA-san has been with us since near the beginning of Nines Own Goal. I would say it was only a matter of time he got to you."

"You're talking crazy. What makes you think that my opinion in any way changed about him?"

"Well, for starters you called him by his name."

"What?"

Ichirou couldn't stop the small, knowing smile he made.

"Earlier when I mentioned his real name, you remarked by saying 'EMIYA-san' in full. No remarks, no nicknames, nothing. Even adding the proper honorifics when you said his name, as you would when talking with the likes of Momonga-san. When in the past you would always leave it out or call him under a different name as a thinly veil insult. Just like how you would always address myself or even Peroroncino-san." Ichirou explained, gaining a wide eye response from the salaryman.

Out of everyone within the guild Ulbert/Youta always addressed everyone in a distant manner, save for Momonga or his friend, Arcadia whom Ichirou knew he respected above everyone else. He was capable of showing mutual respect to the likes of Tabula, or even Yamaiko. But, when it came to say Touch Me, Peroroncino, and even Shirou, in the past he wouldn't bother showing the same formality.

It was something Ichirou picked up instantly about the heteromorphic player as it just stood out compared to his actions in the past. Now that Ichirou thought about it, it was around the time after they conquered The Tomb of Nazarick that his attitude and general disposition towards his fellow hero in arms changed.

Ichirou made out the faint sound of Youta clicking his tongue, a look of annoyance on his face. It seemed that he hadn't expected the police officer to be that perceptive or at the very least, draw such an accurate conclusion just from one piece of information.

"How the hell did you…"

"In the academy, they also taught us to look at everything with a critical eye. You'll be surprised how something you think might be inconsequential may actually be the key to the situation." Ichirou replied with pride.

"Well, now that's a surprise. So, they don't just teach you to arrest the poor, as well as taking bribes during work?" Youta took a jab, earning a deadpanned glare from Ichirou.

"No." He returned.

"You could have fooled me." Youta gave a cheeky smirk.

Ichirou eyes narrowed, it was clear that he was trying to shift the subject away, but it wouldn't work.

"You can try and deny it all you want, but it's clear as day to me that you've talked with EMIYA-san. No matter how much you deny it. You have changed Youta-san, however small it might be. I can see it!" Ichirou proclaimed with absolute certainty, drawing the ire from Youta once again.

"EMIYA-san has always had a special talent when it came to people. He could always to relate to us, in one form or fashion. With everyone from Momonga-san, Peroroncino-san, even Tabula-san. So, it's not a surprise that he managed to get to you as well." The police officer continued.

Youta felt his eyebrows twitching, his annoyance for Ichirou's cocksure attitude rising by the second.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious as to how do you of all people and man of EMIYA-san character could relate. I can only imagine what transpired. Ichirou said casually.

At this point Youta just about had enough with Ichirou. More so because he irritated the salaryman than any true form of anger; if there was one thing he couldn't stand in this world it would be the feeling of "I told you so." Especially from his friend-slash-enemy.

 _'If you want to know so badly, then fine! Let's see if you're still so smug after this!'_ Youta reasoned. Knowing full well that the topic for which he was to speak of would shock Ichirou. If Ichirou wanted to know, then he'll oblige as a cheeky way to get back at him. Knowing full well how the uptight man would react.

"How do I relate to that heroic wannabe cheater? Well, that's simple! We are bonded by the sacred bond of two fuck ups acknowledging how suicidal or mentally unstable we both are. Me with my own misanthropy and self-destructiveness and him with his distortion and similar behavior to my own." Youta answered.

It took a moment before Ichirou finally registered his words. When he did, his reaction was immediate. Youta got what he wanted, a look of shock and horror, clear as day on Ichirou's face. However, the satisfaction he derived from it was short lived and fleeting. His short smug smile died down, lips pressed into thin lines as with his words he had opened a new can of worms.

A look of extreme concern washed over Ichirou as heard his friend admitted to thinking about ending his life.

"I—I'm…I—didn't know…I'm…sorry…" He stuttered, trying to apologize but unable to find the proper words to properly convey his intentions.

Only for Youta to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Knock it off, I'm fine. Really." He said.

Youta's words were hardly convincing if the look on Ichirou's face was anything to go by. He let out a groan of annoyance at his comrade's misplaced care.

"If I really was suicidal, I would have offed myself a long time ago. Rather than sitting here with you." He said, empathizing his point by dragging his thumb across his neck.

While Youta's word didn't entirely convince Ichirou, he did back off. At the very least, not looking at him as if he was a threat to himself.

"What happened?" The self-proclaimed hero of justice had to ask.

"Hell, if I know." Youta fully admitted. "You are right about something. The bastard got some kind of sixth sense or something! He saw through me some-fucking-way and managed to get me to admit that I thought of offing myself several times in the past."

Ichirou couldn't help but fidget in his seat a little at hearing how casually his companion was speaking on the matter of suicide. He took another sip of his coffee to soothe his anxiety.

As Youta continued a part of him questioned why he was still talking with Ichirou. Why was he spilling so much information so liberty? To the person, he somewhat "hated" not all too long ago.

Perhaps it was the bit of comradery that developed between the two during all of this. It could even that it was just him being suspectable at the moment; rambling on. Or maybe, he just wanted another person, someone or anyone, to hear his story.

Either way, the reasoning was lost on him as he and Ichirou continued their conversation.

"But you'll never guess what he said to me. Come on, guess!" Youta prompted, a mysterious grin on his face.

"W-well…At the very least I imagined EMIYA-san managed to talk you out of it and give you a good lecture on the matter." Ichirou guessed. His cup rising to his mouth for another sip.

Youta's grin only widened.

"That's what I thought as well. I thought he would give the same cliché bullshit answer on how suicide is wrong, or I can be helped. Instead, the son of a bitch said why haven't I done it yet?!"

Ichirou immediately began choking on his coffee upon hearing the answer. He began pounding on his chest all the while choking up a storm from his coffee going down the wrong gullet. Youta had the opposite reaction, finding it amusing. He cackled wildly as Ichirou tried to breathe.

"Oh god! You should have seen your face!" He laughed

"I—Him…how…" It was safe to say that Ichirou was flabbergasted. Out of everything he thought his colleague would say, it wouldn't be encouraging such an act.

"I was almost the same. Well, besides the near choking on the coffee." Youta added, his laughter dying down.

"…What happened?" Ichirou couldn't help but ask again. He was beyond confused at this point and wasn't too sure how to react.

"What happened…?" Youta repeated. "I wonder that question myself."

His eyes glazed over as the memory of that day resurfaced from the dark recesses of his mind. Youta could remember everything with perfect clarity. Everything that had happened and what the two said. Ichirou called out to him, seeing his comrade shutting down all of sudden. He remained unresponsive to his calls. Youta couldn't even hear him, lost in his memory as it played out once more.

* * *

Ulbert could still remember it as if it was yesterday. Shirou had managed to corner him within their guild base and the two started talking. The exact circumstances and nature of the conversation that lead up to the moment were hazy but that wasn't important. What was important was everything that came after. He could remember his reaction when he first heard the faker responded with what he said.

Ulbert first remembered feeling shocked at his words only for it to transform into anger at Shirou.

"You bastard! If you got something to say, say it to my face!" Ulbert shouted, getting right in the face of Shirou who remained silent. With no user supported facial feature in YGGDRASIL the goat heteromorph was left pondering his guild mate's true expression.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?!"

"I didn't say that." Shirou calmly countered. "I simply asked you a question. I only asked you, why didn't you?"

Hearing him repeat the question, Ulbert felt his anger flared up. Were they not in their guild base Ulbert would have attacked Shirou right then and there. Consequences be damned. At first, the World Disaster thought the heterochromatic player was goading him on. His mind conjuring up an image with Shirou's asking why Ulbert hasn't already killed himself with a condescending look.

However, the rational side of his mind put an end to such bias thought. As much as he hated to admit it, the two have known one another for a long time, all those years ago from their times within Nines Own Goal and now to Ainz Ooal Gown. He knew enough about Shirou then he would care to admit. And Ulbert knew that Shirou wasn't that kind of person.

The seriousness of how he asked the question. It wasn't spoken condescending, but rather calmly and firmly. Just a question, nothing more and nothing less.

Still, that didn't mean he had to stand there and listen to him.

"Forget this!" He gave a forceful shove, knocking Shirou back.

"I don't have to say anything, least of all to you!" Said Ulbert as he walked away. He took no more than a couple of steps before Shirou spoke up.

"There's no shame in admitting you're afraid you know."

Ulbert instantly whirled around, his anger flaring into a raging inferno at the implications.

"I'm afraid of nothing!" He screamed back. His pride speaking more than anything else.

"We both know that's not true. Death has always been an inevitability, something everyone fears most of all in this world." Shirou calmly replied.

A creeping feeling began to pool within the archdemon. There was something about the entire situation that felt… _wrong._ He ignored it in favor of glaring back at the humanoid player. Where the heteromorphic player was screaming, his voice full of anger and emotion. Shirou was speaking formally and calmly as if they were having a mild manner chat. Ulbert opened his mouth to respond only for the silver-haired player to continue.

"Because I couldn't go through with it either."

Ulbert went rigid as his brain processed Shirou's statement. The realization hit him as the humanoid player admitted having once thought of taking his own life as well. Just like him. Internally he grimaced, unsure exactly where to go to from here. Especially after the revelation, his guildmates shared with him.

"What's your point?" Ulbert spat out.

Shirou looked to him but said nothing immediately. After a few moments of silence, he began anew.

"People often believe that suicide is the coward's way out. That even the mere thought of taking your own life is wrong and heinous. In many ways, that line of thinking is indeed correct. However, people often forget that death is a form of freedom of its own. The important factor in all of this is **context**.

If a man, with a loving wife and a child of his own, were start thinking such things. In this scenario, it would be wrong. For if he dies, he would leave behind a grieving wife. His child would grow up without a father. The family would be hurt both emotional, physically, and financially. The man's death would be considered a tragedy based on everything he would leave behind."

As Ulbert listened he only grew more impatient and irritated. In all seriousness, he should just leave and forget about Shirou. And yet, here he remained. And this single decision changed him.

"But what if we were to talk about someone who has nothing to lose. Someone, truly alone in this world. Someone that no one knows about, merely an insignificant individual in a sea of other equally mundane people. All the same as him. No one would miss him, no one to care for him if he disappears, and no one to mourn him. Be it friends, family, or lovers. Just as there is no one in the world that cares for him he too does not care about the world.

So then, would death not acceptable then? Nothing is lost from his departure just as how nothing is gained from it either. Especially when he himself doesn't have any reason to continue living? Nothing to attach him to the world, be it a physical or emotional connection. No goal to drive him or push him forward.

Every day is a constant reminder of what he lost and what he could never hope to gain. Life itself becoming his own personal hell. At this point can one truly call that living? When even the act itself has no other purpose than to continue onto the next day. Automatic and pointless.

At some point in time, even the act of living becomes too bothersome. Before long we start to think, why should we even bother anymore? There's nothing left so wouldn't it be better if it all just end? To continue living is to continue to suffer.

So, wouldn't it make sense to just end it all? Just, get it over and down with and then finally leaving this world behind. To finally be free of it all…"

Hearing all of this Ulbert remained still as a statue, locked in place. Shock and fear had stilled his feet, preventing him from running. A cold and unnerving chill ran down his spine at the conversational tone Shirou was using to speak. Almost with a cold detachment to reality and the situation. Merely that of a casual observer.

Ulbert's breathing picked up unconsciously, to the point where he was almost hyperventilating as Shirou continued on with his speech.

Ulbert would never admit it but he was extremely uncomfortable, afraid even, at that moment. Not simply because of his words and their context but how they related back to the heteromorphic player. The demonic player had no idea if Shirou was knowingly or unknowingly speaking about himself, or to Ulbert, or even in general. It didn't matter as each one of his statements and points rang clear in his ear.

Almost as if Shirou was there, had seen his past and known his exact thoughts. That was what frightened him. Shirou spoke with an almost assured confidence that it felt as if he was reading Ulbert like an open book.

Everything Shirou had stated, at one point in time he once felt or thought exactly as he described. Before YGGDRASIL Ulbert had absolutely no one. His parents were dead when he was young. He had no one he could ever call a friend growing up, be it in real life or online. His co-workers showed no care or thought for him. Every day was a struggle just to make it by. Everything about his life was pointless in his eyes. Even the struggle to continue living, day by day, felt tiresome and repetitive.

No one cared about him, and so he cared for one but himself. And just as Shirou described, it all just became a bother. What was the point of continuing to live, when there was nothing in life to look forward to? His job sucked and would most likely be the cause of his death just like his parents as he feared. The people he sees every day be it his co-workers or those that he happens to cross randomly in the streets cared only for themselves. He had no real goals or aspirations because he knew it was impossible for him to claw his way out of destitute. He was simply numb to it all.

One day, while lying on bed Ulbert came to a conclusion. That the world was shit and that continuing to live on was just plain torment. So why bother continuing?

"And yet, when we try to go through with it. We cannot. Doubt and fear grip us when before we thought that it was what we truly wanted. In the end, we find ourselves unable to go through with it. Because we are afraid; frightened." Shirou continued.

Ulbert couldn't control the shudder he experienced. Once again Shirou hitting very close to home for the heteromorphic player liking.

"In the end, no matter how dark or bleak life may be. No matter how easy the decision may seem to be. No one is truly ready to die, no matter how much they say or believe so. Not simply because we are afraid or that we're in the end, a coward. But because in the end, we're still seeking a purpose. A reason to continue living…"

Shirou turned to look at Ulbert, right in his eyes. Ulbert involuntary took a step backward as his piercing heterochromatic eyes settled on the World Diaster.

 **"After all, we were born into this world for a reason."**

Ending on that, the faker said nothing more. Content to stand there and wait until Ulbert was ready.

"S-shut…S-shut...!" Ulbert began, his voice shaky and trembling in anger. All before he released it all, all his repressed anger.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! **SHUT THE HELL UP**!" Ulbert shouted with all his rage. "You don't know jack shit about me! Not a single fucking thing, you hear me! You pretentious wannabe hero sack of shit! You don't know what I've been through, what I've seen and done! Don't talk to me as if we're friends or anything! As if you know me because you don't! You couldn't possibly know what it was like for me! Don't try and pretend like you know what's good for me! So, stop it! Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

He let it all out, all his rage and vitriol. At the end of it, he was left gasping for air. Whimpers leaving him, as if he was about to break down any second now.

"You are right Ulbert-san, I don't know what you went through. All I can do is wonder what happened to you in the past that made you who you are this day." Shirou admitted. "However, I do know this. What I've seen and experienced makes what you've been through looks like child's play."

A bold statement if there ever was one. Ulbert couldn't even argue back as he was still catching his breath, allowing Shirou to continue unimpeded.

"As blunt as this is, your case is nothing special, Ulbert-san. What happened to you, is happening to hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of people around Japan. Do you think you're the only one that lost people they've cared about? Do you think you're the only one that suffered at the hand of the cruel world around them?

No, you're not. You're but one many.

And not just within Japan but also the rest of the world. Our world has always been mired by tragedy since the beginning of human civilizations. You are not the first unfortunate case of misfortune plaguing their life. And you won't be the last. Seeing so many play out in practically the same manner, it all just gets muddled together. People die every single day, be it mothers, fathers, or even children. A case of a child losing his parents is a tragedy. Millions of the same exact case happening all across the world? Well, then it becomes a statistic."

It was here that Ulbert realized what was wrong. Why Shirou of all people unnerved him so much at the moment. It was because his words and demeanor were contradictory to everything he knew of the Faker. The two may not be exactly friends but even the archdemon knew for certain what kind of person Shirou was. Kind, brave, sincere, thoughtful, hopeful, and many others. Many within the guild, more notably his closest friend considered him the heart of the group. The brilliant, luminous light that graced everyone with an uplifting presence.

It went against Ulbert's preconceived notion of naïve and hopeful idiot he thought he knew Shirou to be. Borderline near nihilism on his part. It was almost like he was talking to himself in some regards.

"Are you saying what happened to me doesn't matter?!" Ulbert growled out. The appeal of firing his most powerful spell straight at Shirou growing by the second.

Shirou shook his head side to side.

"No. What happened to you was indeed a tragedy, Ulbert-san. I'm merely pointing out that there are others just like yours happening all the time. What I am telling is just how long are you going to play a victim? There are even those that have suffered far worse than you Ulbert-san. In fact, I know that's true because I've seen them first hand.

Tell me, have you ever fought individuals who used the young as food to survive? Men willingly to release some of the worst WMDs in the history of all mankind? Individuals whose own selfishness borderline on megalomania. Or what about something more personal? A child taken away from their parents and taught to hate and kill? A child who was tortured and raped by her "family" for a decade for their own sick amusement? Those no older than adults forced to kill one another for reasons even they cannot fully comprehend. Well…?"

As Shirou listed example after example, he took a step forward each time. Until the two of them were practically in one another's face. Ulbert couldn't help but take a step back and turned his head, trying to avoid his piercing gaze.

"W-well, that is the pain of other individuals. It's just like you said, bad things happen to people all the time and everywhere. What do you know of suffering?!" Ulbert stuttered out.

"What do I know of suffering? A lot, or have you forgotten what I once told to you all, all those years ago?" Shirou returned immediately.

Ulbert eyes widened. He would freely admit that he did indeed forgot all about Shirou's history and the backstory he shared with them all those years ago after the fight with Berserker. Rarely was the subject ever brought up, nor did said player ever really mentioned it. The memory of the event fading into obscurity within their minds over time. Until now that was, where Shirou was more than happy to give him a reminder and more.

"The earliest memory I have is a fire. A cursed inferno in which hundreds lost their lives. Among the ashes and charred remains of mountains of their corpses, I laid trapped beneath rubble. Rubble that had collapse on my empty shell of a body, one who had been mentally and physically scarred. One that had discarded everything about themselves for the hope of survival. Their memories, their feelings, their humanity, and, in the end, even the very hope they sought.

It did not end there, as just like I told you all in the past I eventually lost everything I once gained and fought so hard to keep. Those who took me in and became my new family. The few friends that stuck with me for however short I knew them. Even those I grew to love and opened my heart to. They all disappeared in the end. And yet, I continued to move on forward. For that was all I could really do." Shirou added, revealing yet another piece of his history with Ulbert. Painting a vivid imagery for the heteromorphic player. Tragedy after tragedy.

"Now, tell me Ulbert-san, have you seen **Hell**?" The humanoid player asked.

Ulbert had wanted to answer with yes but no words came. There was something about the way he said that. It wasn't just a simple question, but something more visceral and personal in his words. In the end, Ulbert said nothing allowing Shirou to continue.

"I have. I have seen and walked into Hell more times than I can imagine. Warzones left behind by human struggles, ideological and otherwise. Scores of land painted crimson with the blood of innocents and villains alike. Piles of corpses left to fester and rot, serving as a feast for the ever-present that marked my every step. Again, and Again, and again, and again, and again once more. One after the other, I memorized every single act of war, violence, cruelty, apathy, and greed that had ever graced this planet of ours. And every time, I experienced them willingly. Even when my body and mind rejected the reality I experienced, I endured. Do you know why?"

Shirou asked Ulbert, whom choose to remain silent once again.

"Because of a hope. A hope, that this would be the last corpse I saw. The hope that this would be the last life I ended. The hope that this would be the last innocent I saw slaughtered. It never came. Even after decades, the bloodshed never ended. In the end, I chased after a fruitless ideal to the grave, and do you know what? In the end, I don't regret it. Why? Because it's never wrong to help a person in need.

So, tell me Ulbert-san…am I a _Monster_ or a _Hero_?"

Hearing this question, Ulbert was left in silent contemplation. Shirou's words echoing through his mind, all his secrets and the question he left him. Seconds ticked on by as if they were hours, the salaryman's mind trying to figure out his answer.

In the end—

"I-I don't…know…" Ulbert finally said.

—He didn't know.

"The answer is neither." Shirou said, answering his own question. "Because, when you have a noose around your neck and the background is flooded with the misplaced hatred of all you have saved from experiencing the horrors of war, there is neither. Only the tortured and tiring existence of **Man**."

A numbing silence took over as Ulbert contemplated his words.

"W-why…" Ulbert couldn't keep the tremble from his voice. "Why are you telling me this."

For, in the end, he could not understand why Shirou of all people was telling him this. What was the point, the purpose behind all of this?

"Because I once wavered and doubted himself. I am not afraid to admit that I am not infallible in my beliefs and ideals. I will not deny your beliefs, Ulbert-san. People can be some of the most terrifying of monsters; capable to acts that border on inhuman. When I was at my lowest point, I too hoped for an end. I allowed darkness to cloud both my eyes and my heart." Shirou told him.

His words were far from hollow, nor were they meant to be encouraging. Because in some respect, the two of them were a bit alike. In the beginning, before he accepted Zelretch's deal he had nothing. Nothing to truly live for. Everyone he once knew and loved was dead, his life's purpose was an endless chase, his body nothing more than a frail husk, and the world he once knew was gone and replaced with a dying duplicate.

Worse of all was Alaya. What he dreaded most of all came to pass, he had struck a deal with Alaya in the end. Meaning once he finally died, he would be chained to her. Forced into the role of Archer, a Counter Guardian. At the time he was living a paradox. He had nothing left to live for and at times wished to end it because he was tired. Yet he still clung to life with fervor determination. Refusing to finally kick the bucket both as a way to delay the inevitable but also to spite the collective consciousness of mankind. Because just like Ulbert, he was afraid. Shirou didn't want to give in just yet, clinging to life for no other reason because he didn't want to die and yet he had no true reason to continue living.

In the end, he continued living only for the sake of continuing to exist. Nothing more and nothing less.

Until Zelretch entered back into his life.

"In the end, I did lose hope. I am far from infallible. I am human, and I do have my low points just like everyone, just like you." Said Shirou, recalling back to his feeling before he had accepted Zelretch's deal. The numbness and despair of it all. "And through either luck or faith, I managed to find a reason to have hope again. Can you guess what it was?"

Ulbert turned to look to him, and for the first time since their conversation, he felt something emanating from the sword spamming player. He didn't know how but the demonic player knew that he was smiling, at him no less.

"You guys. Everyone from Ainz Ooal Gown. Momonga-san, Peroroncino-san, Bukubukuchagama-san, Touch Me-san, Tabula-san, Amanomahitotsu-san, Yamaiko-san, and even you Ulbert-san. You became my new hope and reminded that there's still good in this world. You all became something I lost so long ago, and thought I would never ever experience. Those I can call my friends."

Ulbert was speechless.

It was no secret within Ainz Ooal Gown that Ulbert did not like Shirou. He could certainly respect him for his skills as a player but that was all. Much like with the silver paladin of the guild, Ulbert disliked Shirou for the same reason as Touch Me. The goat heteromorph viewed him as another more than another idiotic, wannabe hero just like the World Champion. A fool on another foolish quest, blinded by is naïve ideals. His ignorance and prejudice lobbying them together.

He would never consider either of them real friends, acquittances, and comrades at best. And Ulbert thought they shared the same sentiment, but it seemed he was wrong.

It was one thing to assume, but it was another to hear it directly from Shirou himself.

A part of him wanted to deny his words, make a crude retort or something. But once again words failed him as he couldn't find the words nor the strength to respond. There was blindly sincerity laced in Shirou's word that even Ulbert couldn't deny.

"You believe that humans have the capacity of being monsters. That is true, but that is far from the whole truth. You forget that same can be said for the opposite of that. If people have the choice to be monsters, then it only stands to reason we also have the choice to do good as well. I've done my fair of horrors but at the same time, I do not lose sight of why I did them. I believe in the good that I've done and the good I can do. And if someone like me still has a chance, then you can too Ulbert-san." Shirou reasoned.

A feeling overcame him. Unable to take it, Ulbert couldn't help but look away. The near smothering aura he gave off, the sincerity in his voice. It was a foreign feeling, not a bad feeling but just different. Something that he had never truly experienced before. He was used to hate, hell to a certain degree he thrived on it. Ulbert had also experience comradery and likes with Momonga, along with some members within Ainz Ooal Gown.

But this was something else, something purer and truer.

"W-why…" Ulbert whispered.

Why do you care? Was the question that was left unspoken. To him, it made no sense. They were just two people that meet online and just so happen to be part of the same guild. It was doubtful that they'll ever meet in person. In his mind Shirou's care was misplaced. Not to mention Ulbert had never been kind to the humanoid player. Always taking an antagonistic stance against him at almost any turn similar to Touch Me.

Where he could confidently say that he and Touch Me were rivals with a strong dislike of one another's personality and views. He couldn't properly pin down his relationship with Shirou. More so how Shirou viewed him. Once again, his prejudice believing that the humanoid hero hated him as well. Only for him to reveal that he never did.

So why. Why did Shirou care so much about him.

Why did he, or rather anyone, cared about some…nobody?

Once again Ulbert felt Shirou's smile on him. This time there was a sense of melancholy but also hopefulness.

"Do I need a reason to help out a friend?" He asked rhetorically.

Gently reaching out, Shirou laid a hand on Ulbert's shoulder. He didn't shy away, nor did he knock his hand off. Instead, he allowed the brief feeling of warmth to rest there.

"Everyone has suffered a tragedy once in their life, You and I, Momonga-san, and no doubt Touch Me-san has suffered in some way. But it is what we choose to do after that truly matters. Your story may not have such a happy beginning Ulbert-san, but it doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your story; who you choose to be that defines you.

Tell me Ulbert-san. Do you want to live out the rest of your life in hatred? Angry at everyone and everything around you? You are not entirely wrong in blaming the world for your misfortune. But do you wish for it to be all you'll ever believe in?"

No.

The answer was immediate, even Ulbert didn't need to say it.

Instead, he said this. "How the hell are you even sure?"

"How do I know? Simple, because like I said, it wasn't too late me and it's especially not too late for you, Ulbert-san. Just like me, it was thanks to everyone that showed me the way. Because there are people that do care about you. Friends such as Momonga-san, or Tabula-san, even Peroroncino-san and Touch Me-san, and the others. But this change can only happen if you let it.

Even if you don't admit it, you do actually believe there is still some good left in this world. After all, you've stuck with us, all the way from Nines Own Goals and now Ainz Ooal Gown for this long now. You consider Momonga-san, and Arcadia-san true friends, don't you? If you truly believe that humanity is no good and hated everyone, then you wouldn't have bothered with us, now would you? You would have left a long time ago and remained a solo player. And yet here you remain to this day."

Shirou pointed out, pointing out the potential fallacy in Ulbert's argument and belief.

"If it was humanity that turned this world to hell, as you said. Then it only fitting that it is up to us to be the ones to make this world a better place. And it all starts with single step. Anything, no matter how big or small. Giving a helping hand to someone in need, offering a stranger your seat on bus. Or even something as simple as lending an ear to a friend's woes.

It is up to you to decide, Ulbert-san what you wish out of life."

With his piece said, Shirou used the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown and teleported away. Leaving Ulbert alone, with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him. Ulbert had no idea how long he stood there in absolute silence. Time was meaningless to the heteromorphic player as it simply dragged along. Nothing but the soft ringing and dead noise to echo in his ears. While his mind was a tempestuous storm of thought and questions. Shirou's word echoing in his mind endlessly.

Out of nowhere, bitter laughter exploded from within him. His entire body shook, unable to contain the near convulsive fits of near maniacal laughter from escaping him. They echoed throughout the virtual halls, a haunting sound to hear. The maelstrom of emotion in his laughter was as clear as day, irony being the most unmistaken emotion in his voice. It continued for a long time, until his throat grew raw from how hard and long he laughed.

Ulbert leaned against the wall as the dregs of his laughter died down. His knees were shaking and felt like jelly, but he powered through the numbness. His chest and throat hurt and burned, struggling to keep him from passing out. Yet, he persevered through it all.

For the moment his parents died and left him alone to now, Ulbert has lived on nothing but his hatred and anger. That single, solitary belief that he held. It had influenced him, shaped him to be who he was this very day. A bitter and cynical man angry at the world.

His hatred for everyone and everything in the world burned like a ferocious and self-destructive fire. Raging on for years; anger at the world for being what it was and anger at the people that made the world into the hell-scape called reality. This belief fueled him for all these years. It was what kept him pressing forward and never once did he waver in this belief. Never once in his life did anyone or anything do anything to challenge it.

Until now.

All because of a conversation with someone he had once dismissed and sneered at behind his back. Someone he once thought of as naïve and believed to be his lesser, because he knew the "truth" of the world. Only for the man he mocked to show just how insular Ulbert truly was.

In this cruel world, he was forced to move on but never Ulbert took the time to mature and come to grip with the world around him. Never was the time taken for him to work through his feelings, to actualize his thoughts and emotions. He was a child when he was exposed to the "truth" of the world. Hatred was an emotion humanity had in excess and Ulbert simply latched onto it for it was easy to hate and blame everyone and everything then it was to admit otherwise.

In an ironic twist, Ulbert's ideals of the human race was paradoxically naïve in a way despite believing them as the "truth" of the world. His views were not wrong, but they were far from the universal truth he believed in. That was what Shirou told him and why he was more inclined to believe him. Were it Touch Me, he had no doubt the World Champion would admonish his cynical view of the world. Such was the self-righteous man that he was.

For Shirou, he acknowledges both the good and the bad of the world and of Man. Unlike Ulbert, Shirou knows there's no such thing as absolute goodness or absolute wickedness in humanity.

His ideology was flawed to a certain extent. Much like a child that only saw things in black and white, the world was never that simple. Ulbert saw the world and its people drenched in blackness, and the light as nothing more than a false promise. When that couldn't be any closer to the truth, as the world was filled with million shades of grey.

Shirou's life epitomizes that, going against almost everything Ulbert believed in. A man that epitomized the good and the bad in life.

Shirou showed Ulbert just how jaded he really was from the experience of a lifetime. Bringing forth the fact that he has suffered horribly, yet he was more optimistic than Ulbert. He still found a way to smile despite everything the world did to beat him down. So, if someone like Shiou was still standing and smiling after the shit he has seen, why couldn't someone like Ulbert look past his misanthropy?

It was why he was laughing like a mad man. As if he just heard the funniest joke; himself being the punchline.

 _'How appropriate…'_ Ulbert thought.

He laughed because he couldn't help it. The delicious irony in everything and yet, so appropriate as well. His negative view on humanity saw anyone at their worst and anyone that tries to deny it as nothing more than a hypocrite. Such were his views on Touch Me and Shirou in particular. Ulbert thought himself as savvy enough to know that he wasn't an exception in his views. But he did see himself as enlightened enough to know where he stood and looked down on others for that same reasoning.

How amusing, Ulbert believing in an ideal that would paint others as hypocrites yet fails to properly recognize himself as one as well. In this particular case failing to see and comprehend what was beyond his insular moral beliefs. Despite evidence proving to the contrary; his friendship with Momonga be the primary source.

He was the biggest type of hypocrite; the one that didn't see himself as one.

In one conversation, that seemingly seething ever-burning fire has been doused. Reduced to a mere smoldering ember. His once absolute faith shaken by one man. For close to twenty years, from the day Ulbert parents died he had lived by this belief. And it had gone unchallenged until now, and with little effort everything was unraveling before his very eyes.

The player known as Shirou had cast doubt on his belief and made him rethink everything he once knew to be true. And the thing was, Ulbert couldn't find himself mustering any strength to hate him.

* * *

"Youta-san!"

Youta was immediately knocked out of his thoughts after hearing Ichirou loudly calling out his name. Reality took hold as he found himself back within the room and with his rival.

"I would hazard a guess that EMIYA-san gave quite the talk to you, just like he did with me." Said Ichirou, giving Youta an expectant look.

Which only annoyed Youta even further. "Knock it off. Just because I don't hate now doesn't mean we're buddy-buddy all of a sudden. I'm sure as shit not going to spill my life's story just because you asked. You don't hear me asking for yours."

"True. However, it does warm my heart to see you've changed for the better Youta-san." Ichirou let the matter drop but still gave a sincere smile at Youta.

Even if it wasn't explicitly stated, he could easily draw his own conclusions knowing how his fellow hero in arms operated. As someone who has undergone a change due to Shirou as well, Ichirou knew better than to push the issue. Because there is no issue.

Youta had undergone an experience similar to his own. As such, he refrains from pushing for an answer, as he was conscious enough to realize that he wouldn't want others to pressure him into giving details, he shouldn't do the same to a friend.

"Go eat a dick!" Youta derided with a deadpanned glare.

"Eloquent as always I see, Youta-san." Ichirou remarked with a flat look of his own.

To which the salaryman responded with a mocking snort. Oh, how things have changed and yet they remained all the same. Then again, the two of them wouldn't exactly have it any other way. Youta's mocking derision versus Ichirou's straight-laced nature.

"You should really thank that bastard next time around. If he and Momonga wasn't around, I would've likely gotten sick enough of your shit that I would've PKed you into quitting!"

Ichirou responded by chuckling at Youta's threating remark. "Really? Then perhaps I should do the same. I may be patience, but there is a limit."

Youta grinned and gave a mocking laugh "Please as if you would have the balls for that!"

Ichirou smiles mischievously. "You'll find that I do have the 'balls' and not afraid to teach you a lesson my friend."

"Try it and beat your ass black and blue!"

"Need I remind you which one of us is the World Champion?"

"You think I give a shit?"

"You would be surprised Youta-san. Shirou has played the part of annoying conscience for quite a long time. Not only on me, but on all of us, I reckon. Ever wondered why we mellowed out on our PKing and aggressive expansion? Blame the team mom."

Youta was dumbfounded for a second, thinking on Ichirou's words before his eyes widened in realization.

"You know, I'm not sure if I should thank him or curse him. He stole my kills by pacifying my Demonic Bloodlust! Damn you, Hero Emiya!"

He shouted in the air with mock fury, which made the edge of Ichirou's lips twitched upwards. They fell into a small comfortable silence, before Youta broke it once more.

"For the record, I'm calling him Team Mom next time we have a guild meeting."

That did it as Ichirou openly cackled at the joke. The police officer wasn't the only one as Youta began chuckling as well. The two players sharing a brief, but budding laugh. It was a strange notion, that the two them to share in a moment like this but far from an unwelcome one. Silence reigned over the room once more before Ichirou promptly stood up.

"I've kept you here for long enough. Come, let's get you out of this room."

"About time." Youta said as he stood up and stretched, all too happy to finally leave.

Following Ichirou, the duo made their way through the station towards the main door. Just before the two reached it, they spotted the same officers that took Youta end. They spotted the salaryman and the elderly officer could easily make out the mischief glinting in their eyes. Behind him, he sensed his comrade tensing up, guarding himself for the ridicule to come.

Before anything could happen, Ichirou marched on forward, startling and staring down his junior officers.

"Is there something you or your friends need, Satou-san?" Ichirou questioned, giving the four a hard look.

Caught off guard, the four officers couldn't help but freeze up under their senior's securitizing glare.

"I well…." The officer stuttered out, looking between Youta and Ichirou.

"I believed I said that I would take care of it. There's no need for you to concern yourself with him now. Now then, on your way. I'm quite busy at the moment." Ichirou dismissed them, and not wishing to make a scene they listened to their orders.

Slinking away, Ichirou looked back to Youta and motioned him to follow. Youta glanced at the retreating officers and glanced back at Ichirou.

"I could have handled them." He muttered, loud enough for Ichirou to hear.

"That, I have no doubt, but it never hurt to have a bit of help." Ichirou simply replied.

Reaching their destination and gathering Youta's confiscated stuff such as his breathing mask and coat the two looked out to see it was raining. A downpour outside, blanking the sky in an inky hew.

"Figures it would raining, just my luck." The salaryman clicked his tongue as he dressed himself.

"Would you also like me to escort you home?" Ichirou offered.

"What am I, a child? I can damn well take care of myself. Besides, what would your wife think if she were to hear you offer to take another man home?"

Ichirou rolled his eyes at Youta's juvenile joke. Youta got a cheeky laugh at the exasperated look on the officer's face. As he reached for the door Ichirou called out to him one last time. To impart to him one last word and advice.

"You know, we always have your back. Momonga-san, Emiya-san, and that include myself. If you ever need something, don't be afraid to ask."

Youta paused and turned towards Ichirou. His face unreadable for a few seconds before giving him a mocking smile. "Careful Touch, your hero is showing. I'm not so pathetic that I can't take care of myself."

"No, but a friend can certainly help." Ichirou replied back with a small smile. He gave the salaryman a slap on his back, which Youta shook off.

He glared back at him, more annoyed than any actual anger. Youta huffed and turned his back towards Ichirou. However, just before he put on his filter mask, he craned his neck back at white haired officer one last time.

"See ya around, **Ichirou-san**."

With those final words, he walked away. Had he stayed a bit longer he would have seen Ichirou surprised look before giving away to a soft smile, sincerity dancing within his gaze.

"To you as well, Youta-san."

And so, they parted ways that day, a cheerful camaraderie once thought dead, reignited. In a different time, such an event would've never happened, and their paths would have become irreversibly diverged. However, this time around, the Fates were much kinder, thanks to the meddling of a Fake Player.

They would meet once again under the banner of Ainz Ooal Gown.

* * *

"I'm home." Said Ichirou as he stepped through the door to his well-furnished home.

"Papa!" A high-pitched voice called out.

In front of the doorway and across the hall was spiral staircases that led to house's second floor. Rumbling footsteps could be heard as someone was running down to greet him. It was none other than his daughter, who ran up to her father and jumped on him.

"Woah!" Ichirou caught her as she hugged his chest, giggling all the while as the two spun in circle.

"Papa! Papa!" She excitedly called out.

Seeing the warm and energetic smile on his daughter's face Ichirou's couldn't help returning with one of his own. Already he was starting to relax, all thanks to the pride and joy of his life.

"How are you doing sweetie? How was school?" He asked with a smile. A hand running through her lovely hair.

Instead of answering immediately, his daughter instead looked up to him with her tiny hands outstretched. Seeing his, Ichirou couldn't help but chuckle. Reaching up, he removed his police cap and rested it on her head. The hat being a size too big, sat loosely on her head, leaning in one particular direction. Though, she paid it no mind and smiled with a smile sweeter than any candy.

"Thank you, papa!"

"Always, sweetie."

"Well, someone seems happy to see daddy today." A third voice chimed in. Walking towards the duo was none other than Ichirou's lovely wife. A childhood sweetheart of his from when they were still kids. And the very first person he helped/saved.

Ichirou's smile only grew, feeling the tender embrace of both his beloved wife and child.

"How was work today, dear?" Ichirou's wife asked.

"A roller coaster of emotions, I'll say that much. But I'll have to say, it had gotten a lot better with you all here." Ichirou smiled.

"Oh, you! Always the charmer." She teased, walking up to him and giving him a chaste but loving kiss. One that Ichirou returned.

"Eyyy, mama and papa are making kissy face again." The two heard their daughter comment.

The parents couldn't help but smile at their daughters' words.

"And when you're older, you'll be making kissy face as well young lady." Ichirou's wife playfully replied.

"Yuck! Boys are nasty!" Ichirou's daughter stuck out her tongue in mock disgust. "I don't have times for boys! When I grow up, I'll be too busy being a hero! Just like Papa."

"Not on an empty stomach you're not. Come on, let's get ready for dinner."

"Ok!"

The mother held out her hand to her daughter, whom grabbed hold of it eagerly with both hands. Both of them sharing happy smiles. As they walked to the dining room, they noticed they were missing someone.

"Papa?"

"Dear?"

The two called out. Looking back, Ichirou remained. A strange but content look in his eyes. He blinked and shook his head before making his way towards them.

"Coming!"

As the family of three walked together, Ichirou thought back on something. Something that Shirou had once told him when he helped him realize that there was more to life than seeing his ideal through.

 _'Touch Me-san. It is not wrong to chase after them no matter how impossible they may be. But never lose sight of what truly important in your life. They'll come a time where you might have to make a choice. Choose what you know is right, not what you think is right.'_

As long as Ichirou lived, he would not give up on his ideals as a Hero of Justice, but he would not allow them to rule him. After all, it was also for them; his wife and daughter that he continues striving to be the best he could be.

* * *

It was raining cats and dogs outside, Ulbert observed from his seat on the tram. After leaving the police station where he was held, he raced to the closest station and boarded a tram to finally make his way home. Thankfully he boarded it and was lucky enough to find a seat despite being cramped, his shoulders practically touching his neighbors. Despite the packed space, it was certainly a lot better than being forced to stand in the middle of the tram.

He was knocked out of his musing when the tram stopped at a station, allowing for more passengers to funnel in. Youta lazily watched as the passenger walked on in and just before he turned away, his eyes focused on a particular passenger. Amongst the sea of adults, the salaryman spotted a child or at least what he thought to be a child. The individual was much smaller compared to the adults that took up the tram space. Dressed in the same dull, and muted clothing of overcoat and breathing mask.

Youta had no idea why, but his eyes wouldn't leave the child alone. Because of this, he was able to pick up on the small details surrounding the youngin. The kid was leaning against one of the metal poles erected within the middle. One of his hand wrapped around the pole but it was clear to all that his grip on it looked loose. The salaryman could make out small tremors across his body, the clearest example was the shaking of his legs with his mask dipping every second.

It didn't take a genius to guess that the child looked ready to collapse at any second and they were struggling to remain conscious. He glanced around, looking at everyone to see if anyone else noticed. If any of the passengers did they didn't certainly didn't show it. Content to remain as they were, refusing to acknowledge or even care for the child's well being.

If no one was going to help him, then who would?

"Hey, kid!"

All heads turned towards the voice as it was none other than Youta that spoke up. He stood up and pointed at the child. Said kid was confused, looking around he then pointed an uncertain finger at himself.

"Yeah, you. Hurry your ass up already!" He ordered which got the kid moving, wabbling as fast as he could the tight spaces.

Youta could feel the eyes of everyone watching him, but he gave no attention. His focus was solely on the kid. He vacated the comfy seat and presented the empty spot to him. The child looked at it and then back to Youta, almost as if he wasn't sure what to believe.

"T-thank you..." He whispered back, his voice sounding hoarse. Gratitude shining through the mask's lens.

Youta only nodded and walked to take his place near the metal pole where the kid once occupated. Still feeling some of the passengers gaze on him but he ignored them all. He leaned against the pole and watched on as the kid sat down and made himself comfortable. Within seconds he started to relax and soon he was asleep.

"Tch, couldn't you have handed over to someone that might need it more?" A voice scoffed.

Youta turned towards the voice and glared at the man. "You're an adult, so suck it up and quit being a bitch!" He bit back.

Silencing the man he turned back around, his gaze back on the sleeping youngin. For the rest of the ride, he kept an eye on the kid until the tram finally reached his destination. As luck would have it, it wasn't just Youta's stop but also the kid's as he awoke suddenly from the intercom's call out. He stumbled as he woke violently from his short respite while trying to leave the tram. Leading to him stumbling and nearly falling had Youta not stepped in and caught him.

"Watch yourself kid." Said Youta and he kept a hand on the kid's shoulder to stable his balance.

He turned to Youta, recognizing the voice to be the same man that was nice enough to offer his seat to him.

"I-I'm sorry." The boy stammered.

"Where you're heading to kid?" He asked.

The kid answer by pointing at an apartment complex that was just across from the tram station. The same apartment complex where Youta lived as well.

"What are the odds?" He muttered to himself. "That's also where I'm heading. Come on, let's go."

"I-I'm fine, sir...I can..." The kid tried to get out, which was promptly shut down by what the salaryman had to say.

"Kid, if it weren't for me holding onto you, you would flop onto the ground." Youta deadpanned. "Don't be difficult and come on. We don't have all day." Despite his seemingly harsh words, he was looking out for the young boy.

Giving in, he took Youta's hand and they began walking home. They walked at a sedated pace, Youta slowing down and matching his pace with the kid as he was still regaining his bearings. Eventually, they reached the complex and into the elevators. Within the building, they tore off their masks and allowed themselves a moment to breathe. First thing first, Youta had to drop the kid off at his home.

Arriving on the floor, he escorted the kid to his home and waited with him outside the door. Hearing the tell-tale noise of the door unlocking, he saw what he presumed to be the kid's mother greeting them.

Youta could tell that she was tired, but made an effort to hide it if the smile on her face was any indication. It reminded Youta very much of his own mother and how she would always try and smile no matter how rough things got. The mother's eyes brightened when she saw the kid but widened instantly upon seeing him with what amount to be a stranger.

"Dear, who's this?" She asked in a guarded tone. Her eyes trained solely on Youta, and despite the previous fatigue shown, she looked ready to fight.

"I'm no one. Your kid looked like he needed some help from tripping over himself, so I decided to lend a hand." Youta answered.

She looked at her son, which nodded enthusiastically with a smile.

"He's a nice mister mom! I was feeling really tired on the way home and he gave me his seat, but I fell asleep. He also helped me when I was about to fall and helped me walk!"

Hearing this she visibly relaxed, giving him a sheepish glance.

"Thank you for taking care of my son." She bowed to Youta.

"Thank you, mister!" The boy added.

"Sure, you're welcome—"

A loud rumbling noise was heard by all three, cutting him off. Youta was interrupted by his own stomach rumbling, sending out a distress call that it was hungry. His face immediately reddened in embarrassment. Mortified couldn't even begin to describe what he felt at that moment and in front of strangers as well.

The mother held a hand to her mouth and had the decency to at least not laugh but he could all but see her amused smile. The boy, on the other hand, had no restraint and found it to be the funniest thing and giggled.

"Would you...like to come in for a quick bite to eat?" The mother offered.

"You're just going to invite a stranger into your home?" Youta instantly questioned. He had no idea if she was being generous or cheeky with her offer.

"You helped my son. That's a hell of a lot more than anyone has done for him. Think of it as thank you for your help."

Youta looked at her, finding her to be sincere in her offer. He glanced back at the boy whom looked at him with eager eyes, he too wanted to Youta to join them. He mused on it, whether or not he should accept or decline.

 _'Ahh, screw it. I'm already late as it is because of Touch Me, so what the hell? I'll be sure to apologize to Momonga-san when I get on later.'_ Youta reasoned. Nodding his head, he accepted her invitation.

"Yay! Let's go, mister!" The boy cheered, grabbing the salaryman's arm and pulling him forward.

"Easy kid! Also, stop calling me mister! I have a name you know."

"Care to share, or else my boy will just call you mister for the rest of dinner." The mother asked, following right behind Youta.

"...Youta Kurayami."

"I see. Come then Youta-san, I'm sure you must be quite famished."

From there time blurred on by as Youta dinned with them. At first, he only intended for a quick meal and then get out of their hair and back to the comfort of his own home. However, he stayed longer than he had originally thought or intended. Time spent just chatting away and enjoying the home-cooked meals. It would be another hour or so before he finally left.

And for the first time he could remember in years Youta ate with others, no longer alone. And the thing was, he enjoyed it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **〚** **Before we get into the usual fanfare, I would like to ask all my readers who've read all three interludes a question. Among the three Daily Lives chapter, which is your favorite? I'm very curious to hear/read your answers and opinions. This'll also help gauge viewer interests. For myself, while this chapter was certainly the most interesting, I would have to say my favorite was definitely the first interlude; Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama. I always get a smile whenever I go back for a reread. So please, do let me know which one you've enjoyed the most.** **〛**

 **Now then, onto the analysis.**

 **The idea, theme, and exploration of the chapter involved followed a similar course to** **how I approached the characters, such as my portrayal of Peroroncino. Namely taking what's already established and turning their somewhat static characters and trying to explore different ideas and nuances about them. More specifically, taking a core aspect of their character and running with it.** **Similar to Peroroncino, who's always depicted as a perverted character, Touch Me is commonly portrayed as the paragon of virtue, the generic virtuous player/hero. With Ulbert taking the role as Touch Me's opposite. Not too much is truly known about them besides what given, and out of all the background characters within Overlord these two are arguably the most influential character on Ainz in canon.**

 **There were two goals I wished to fulfill in the chapter. Adding and exploring the relationship between Touch Me and Ulbert beyond what we already know. And diving into how a character like Shirou change/influence them.**

 **Touch Me is a rather interesting case, as on the surface and to an extent his character and Shirou's are almost identical. They both wish to become Heroes of justice, wishing to help others, and do good, etc... Like Peroroncino, there are facets to him that I wanted to explore and dipped my hand into in which aren't fully explored in the LN. One of those ideas specifically was his notion and idea of justice. In the canon of Overlord, the world is a textbook definition** **dystopian society. His dream, his way of life was stripped away and he turned to YGGDRASIL. This notion has never been fully stated and more implied. I wanted to further expand on that idea, diving into the mind, psychology, and belief of someone like Touch Me, an ordinary man trying to reach an ever reaching dream. I framed him similar to Shirou, but less extreme and fervent in his ideals.** **Showing Touch Me in a different light, showing a crack in the armor and the man behind it.**

 **\- In a way, how I characterized Touch Me, he's very reminisced of a younger, and stubborn Shirou at the beginning of Unlimited Blade Works, but also a hint of Archer with his self-loathing and critical view on his ideals.** **I had the idea of Shirou being a foil to Touch Me. Their piece was based heavily off on the interaction and relationship of Shirou and Archer back in Unlimited Blade Works. With** **Shirou representing Archer's role, but not in an antagonistic role but rather to help reaffirm Touch Me's beliefs.** **He helps to draw parallels between the two, but also call to the differences between Shirou's view of a hero and Touch Me's.**

 **\- The main idea and point was an exploration of two characters that are seemingly the same on the surface.** **I wanted to differentiate Touch Me's views and ideals with that of Shirou's. Showing the similarity, but also the minute difference between the two of them. Namely, showing a more humane and down to earth exploration of this version of Touch Me.**

 **In Ulbert's case, his** **misanthropy is a hallmark of his character. Besides Peroroncino, he was a character I enjoyed to explore and think of new ideas to explore his character. He shares many similarities with Momonga/Ainz. Both lost their parents when they were very young, both only finished elementary school and then were forced to work, both worked arduously as a salaryman, both looked to YGGDRASIL as an escape, and so on. Where Momonga grew introverted from his experiences, Ulbert developed** **to become a** **misanthrope.** **He was a victim of circumstances due to the dystopian world of Overlord, just like Momonga, and Touch Me. Like Touch Me, I wanted to expand on his relationship, backstory, and beliefs to make him a more well-rounded character, rather than simply the de facto "evil" character in Overlord writing.**

 **\- I used the exact same model for Ulbert as Touch Me, but this time I framed Ulbert as Archer, representing his loathing and hatred.** **Unlike Touch Me where Shirou counters him, here he opposes Ulbert's beliefs and outlook in life and challenges them. His case followed a similar beat to how Shirou vs Archer went down. Similar to Touch Me, Shirou never truly admonishes Ulbert for his belief.**

 **Shirou served as a medium of sorts between the two characters, as he from his personal experience he rides a line between the two characters and their ideals. Showing that they weren't necessarily wrong in their ideals and beliefs, but neither are theirs completely right or absolute. Following in line with the central theme of what it means to be a human being.**

 **Not just their relationship with Shirou but also with one another. In the LN and canon, Ulbert and Touch Me's relationship was more akin to that of rivals then actual hatred. It has been noted that Ulbert doesn't truly hate Touch Me and was more jealous than anything. Their canon selves could be looked at as a sort of frienemy. I wanted to run with this idea, and further their relationship and contextualized them with how I choose to characterize them and the choices I made.**

 **Namely focusing on what if Ulbert does "hated" Touch Me, giving what is known about Ulbert and his beliefs versus that of Touch Me's. S** **howing further depth to their respective character and fleshing out the two roles with one another. Showing their relationship and views on one another isn't simply one sided. I guess, trying to show that they are people, with likes, dislikes, and objectivities to their own characters.** **One is clearly a 'glass is half full' kind of man and the other a 'glass is half empty.' But they are not completely defined by that singular quality they are known for.**

 **Both were clearly affected by the world, and both have to live in a world that does not truly care for them.** **Their general attitude and beliefs were close night and day but at the same time, they were far more alike beneath the surface. Like two sides of a coin, both of them representing a facet of one another. A reflection of humanity. It was this duality that I found it so interesting to think of and write, while also incorporating Shirou in the mix as well. To form a cocktail of character growth and interaction.**

 **I also wanted to originally include an excerpt involving a breakdown and explanation of Touch Me and Ulbert and their respective player avatar similar to how I did it in the Peroroncino and Bukubukuchamaga interlude. Pointing out the potential symbolism and whatnot. However, I found that it didn't flow right so I thought I'll just include the basic idea here.**

 **[I characterized Ulbert with the classic, anime-style dead eyes to show and emphasize his belief.** **Revealing much about himself but also how he views the world. He saw no purpose in the world he calls reality. One where living itself was considered his own personal hell. Everything and everyone he view through the lens of cynicism was all the same.** **How fitting it was that it took the false reality of YGGDRASIL to feel truly alive. The character of Ulbert Alain Odle is a demon.** **Demons were oftentimes characterized as foils for humanity, beings of excesses. Creatures that embodies the worst of mankind, lust, power, envy, destruction, and so much more. Fitting, as it mirrored Youta's views. He believed that humans were nothing short of monsters/demons by their actions alone. So he embraced that ideology.** **Everything about the character of Ulbert, from his mannerisms,** **stylized form of speech, and preferred form of tactic in battle. It all screamed of outrage.** **Unlike in life where all he was just a cog in the machine, under the thumb of others with no true power of his own. Where all his life he never felt once in control, in YGGDRASIL it was he that now possessed power. Power of near unimagined magnitude that which made him so feared amongst the players. For in YGGDRASIL he was the one in control.**

 **Where Ulbert embraced it all, Touch Me instead chose to mask it. At first glance, it would be impossible to tell that Touch Me even belonged to the Heteromorphic race. His brilliant white armor, Compliance with Law, was a full suit of armor that hid his entire body. Making it impossible to accurately identify his avatar's character race. Its design honoring the likes of heroes of old from the likes of fairy tales. But following that notion, it was almost as if Touch Me was hiding away the truth behind a shining appearance. The brilliant white armor hides his heteromorphic race as if Ichirou was hiding from the truth. Matching his belief and attitude about himself, and how he viewed the disappointing reality of his world. Forced to keep his beliefs to himself lest he attracts the wrong attention. Touch Me was forced to wear a façade, forced to abide by and follow the rules of a corrupt society. Like Ulbert, he came to YGGDRASIL in order to feel some semblance of control over his life and belief...]**

 **That was as much as I could think up and connect, but as you could probably see, it's a bit jumbled and all over the place, especially with Touch Me. I thought it was still neat, and didn't want it to go completely to waste, so here it is.**

 **Just like with Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama, I tried making them as thematic as I could to have fun with their names. Once again, I wasn't exactly original in my approach but meh, I liked it.**

 **Touch Me – Ichirou (First Son) Yūkan'na (Yukanna 勇敢な = roughly translate to "Braveshine")**

 **Ulbert Alain Odle – Youta (** **擁汰 = roughly translate to "Is holding too much")** **Kurayami (暗闇 = Roughly translate to Darkness)**

 **And that ends that. Finally, the interludes are all written and done with. While I enjoyed writing them and everything, I will admit that it gets a bit boring sometimes writing only dialogue, exposition, or narration. I crave some good actions and explosive writing, that'll get the imagination and drive to write pumping! Now we'll be heading back to the main story, and the next story "arc" and one that I'm very excited to write and show in the next few chapters.**

 **Thank you again for reading. Please, rate and review if you enjoyed it, or if you have a comment or question you'd like to ask.**

 **See you all in the next chapter!**

 **Next Chapter:** **Changing Times**

* * *

 **[11/14/19 Anniversary Update]**

 **Hello!**

 **Happy one year anniversary! For today The Fake Player is officially one year old!**

Firstly, I guess I would just like to say sorry if I got any reader's hopes up for this update being a new chapter. It's still in the works, and I would say its roughly about 70% finished. Still needs some more tune ups and the likes before it'll be ready to go. Much likes the others I estimate it'll probably be around 17k words or higher, so the usual length for my updates. Don't exactly have an estimate time for when it'll be ready, but I'm hoping no later than the end of the month at best. So long as nothing tooooo drastic happens to either of us.

For this update of sorts, I wanted to just write. Write my thoughts, addressing you all the reader, and just trying to have a bit of fun with this all. I don't really know if anyone really cares, but I do and I thoughts, why the heck not. For those that aren't overly interested or don't care about this kind of stuff. That's completely fine as well. This was something more for myself to write then anything else, and can read it if anyone wishes so, or has time on their hands and or bored. As well as including some words of his own, my trusted friend and Beta: Dante Evans. But that's not to say that's all this update has to offer.

At the end of the "chapter", quote on quote, is an excerpt of the new, proper chapter. I included it as a small sneak peek for the 3rd and final interlude to the Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown arc that's currently wrapping up. As well as a funny omake that Dante thought of and created when I first pitched to him the idea of Aura and Mare being the "children" of Shirou and Bukubukuchagama during the first Interlude.

Consider it a small anniversary gift from myself and Dante to you all, the readers for sticking with me for so long. Hope you all enjoy it, and are excited for the full length chapter coming soon.

And if you have at least read to here, I would just like to say **Thank You**. Thank you to everyone that has given my story a read, giving reviews, comments, and everything on the chapters. Thank you for all the support and interests you've shown throughout the year. And I hope to keep on entertained in the future with the coming chapters.

With that said, I guess I would like to get started on this Anniversary update.

* * *

So, reading the title, today on November 14th, 2019 [The Fake Player] is officially one year old! It didn't dawn on me that the story was reaching its one year anniversary until about two weeks ago, and even then I was in this odd state of disbelief as the date grew closer and closer. I wasn't too sure what to really do, or even what to think if I'm being honest. Part of me wonder if I'm taking this a bit too seriously, considering I'm writing an Anniversary update of all things. Most of writer I've seen to noticed don't really care or bother with this kind of things. Considering its rather arbitrary and doesn't exactly matter, but I still wanted to do something. At the very least, make it a small momentous occasion.

For today marked the day that I dived headfirst into the world of writing.

For some readers, they've heard me say this before but from the very beginning, all the way from the conceptual stages of this story, I had extremely low expectations on the story. Before, I was a lurker with nothing to my name. Not only would this be my first story, it was the first time I've ever under took such a large, relatively speaking, writing project. I had a bit of hope and expectation that I would catch a few reader's interests, seeing as it involved Fate, and the idea of the story taking place before Overlord canon, within the gaming world of YGGDRASIL. Riding off the hype of the 3rd Overlord season and the interest with the anime and light novels., as well as the popularity of Fate on FF. I thought it would catch a few reader's interest and attention for the pre-canon AU style story alone if only because there were rarely any stories that tackled such a topic and story at the time.

Probably sound like a broken record, but never did I ever thought the story would explode in popularity as it has. Sure, I fantasized that it could potentially get popular one day, setting the bar at around 1k for favs and follows, and maybe 400-500 reviews. At the time, that was what I saw and considered as a story that made it big and successful. And if the stars aligned, then perhaps I could reach such heights within a year or so.

Safe to say that we've shot through the fricking roof, and surpassed all my previous expectations.

Looking back at all my chapters, all my author's note you can kind of track the progress of everything. Around 200-ish favorites and followers, along with over 50 odd reviews after the Prologue was published. Every chapter we jumped leaps and bounds beyond my expectations. The best and proudest moment I had was when one of my chapter, the first Interlude involving Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama eclipsed 200 reviews on it alone. Now, after one year. The story has 3.2k favorites, over 3.8 followers, 1,200 reviewers, and over 250k views!

I had originally wanted to bring up the fact that we surpassed 3k fav and follows on the previous chapter, but completely forgot it.

It's completely crazy to me just to think about it! In the span of about a year the story has managed to shot up through the ranks, and is now the 28th most favorited, as well as the 23rd most followed story of all Fate X-over stories, and the 3rd highest Overlord X-over story on FF. We've managed to reach such height and popularity in such a short amount of time, that so many older, and better stories within the fandom haven't reached yet despite being far older than my own. It's just dizzying to think that my small idea for a story eventually turned into this.

It must mean that I'm doing something write to garner so such attention and interest amongst the community. And I couldn't have reached such heights without you all, the readers that took the time to read story and continue to do so.

 **How it all got started:**

Probably like everyone in the beginning, I was just a lurker, reading any fics and stories that caught my attention. Well known or niche, short or long, I read anything that caught my fancy. At the time, and even now the main fandom and interest still is Fate. I was on a huge Fate binge last year, reading just about everything and anything I could so long as it was interesting. At the same time, I was rereading the Overlord Light Novels thanks to the 3rd season of the anime renewing my interests in the series. Eventually, I got curious and decided to check out if there were any interesting stories on the Overlord fandom. Read through all that I could find and peaked my interests, until I came across a story that would be the catalyst of my beginning into the writing foray. One that I'm sure many within the Overlord community has probably at least heard or seen it.

Raid Boss by dEBB987. I avoided it for the longest time due to the fact that it was an HP X-over as well, and well I'm not exactly a fan nor have an interest in the Harry Potter series. I've never really enjoyed it, part of it was due to how rabid the fandom could be, and usual stigma. However, eventually I decided to try it out. Especially since the story advertised an interesting idea and setting for the story. A fic that would take place within YGGDRASIL, before the start of Overlord canon. An idea that was barely explored or even touched upon by the community. A lot have wondered just how a story taking place before the beginning of Overlord would go; the golden age of gaming so to speak. All the intricacies, adventure, and potential for a story of that nature. My curiosity won out, and I wanted to see what fresh take or ideas this story could bring.

Whenever I was all caught up, I felt a bit disappointed at it all. I've personally have no qualms or issues with him and his works, but I will perfectly admit that I am not a huge fan of the fic. The premise and idea was so good, but the execution of it fell flat. It turned into a basic Harry Potter insert story, and while the later part brought in some new and interesting ideas it never felt earned to me. Harry is considered well loved and admired by those of Ainz Ooal Gown and the NPCs. Ok, so where's the build up the proof that he truly is whom the writer is describing?

 **Apologies for the slight off-topic rant.**

It was my disappointment in the fic that fueled my drive to see an idea and work regarding the premise of an Overlord story set within YGGDRASIL through.

I could still remember my thoughts and feeling exactly as I read the last available chapter. "I could probably write something better than this." That rather classic/cliche line that's thrown around on the internet. That thought stewed in my head for a few days, and rather than being all talk I decided to pull a Thanos at the end of Age of Ultron. "Fine, I'll do it myself." And I did.

If no one could or wanted to write a story, to the level and expectation of what I and others wish would be written or seen involving the gaming world of Overlord, then I'll be the one to dip my hand into the pull and do it myself!

From there, the rest as they say is history. I decided to write an Fate X Overlord story out of my love for both franchise, and I thought that the two could compliment each other and allow me to write an interesting story using them. And, I think I succeeded in that part at the very least.

I sometimes wondered what it would be like had I not decided to put my money where my mouth was, and actually started giving back to the communities I've enjoyed. So far, I've seen little to few stories pop up over the coming that have tackled what I'm writing. An Overlord story starting back during the days of YGGDRASIL. I wondered if I never started up this story, would anything have really changed? So many talk and discuss what YGGDRASIL would be like, and yet few ever try putting it into words and form a story about it. I even wondered if anyone would really be interested in it, considering its all unknown territory, and AU stories are a hit or miss on FF at times.

In the end, I was glad to have started this little stories of ours, and through the good and bad times I never regretted writing. For it opened up doors for me, and allowed me to write and entertain others. Especially those that have entertained and inspired me in the past. To me that's a bit amazing all in its own. That my story could capture the interest and intrigue of those that inspired me to write, and strive to make this story better and reach new and awesome heights.

Thank you to the likes of:

 **Parcasious**

 **Revdb**

 **St. Provena**

 **A Dyslexic Writer**

 **Doctor Snake Eater**

 **Boyzilla**

 **Nukoko**

 **Vahn**

 **Quatermass**

 **Cablevision**

 **Sniperk**

 **Kyugan**

 **Saraak**

 **Sir Godot**

 **Third Fang**

 **Arrixam**

 **Jason wu**

 **Leona-do**

 **Trick N. Zwei**

 **Ray O'Neill**

 **Marcus Galen Sands**

And so on, and on. If I had to list all the writers and author's I enjoyed reading, and the ones that inspired me in some way to actually start writing then we'll be here for a while. But some of these names were among the prominent few that truly inspired me to give writing a try and influence the story of The Fake Player to this day. I could confidently say that if it weren't for their contributions and amazing work, I would not be the writer I am today.

As well as all the reviewers and commenters that even leave a simply "good chapter" or "thank you". I always read your reviews and comments, and while I try to answer and respond to as much as I can, whenever I can.

With my piece said, I'll be turning it over to my friend, and the one that's been with me near the beginning and stuck with me all throughout this. My Beta: Dante Evans.

 **Dante Evans:**

Scoot over! For the star has arrived! That is right folks, it is I! The man, the myth, the legend! The one, the only, the most incredible, most amazing, most irresistible, most salacious, most marvelous, most supreme...

 **Pride: Get on with it!**

Alright, alright, yeesh, talk about a buzz kill! Where was I again? Ah right, I remember now. I am he who dwells in the dark, the voice of reason (insanity) in the Pride's thoughts. I AM BATMA—

 **Pride: Dante. You're Dante Evans, heck I already introduced you when I turned it over towards you!**

Geez, for such a happy occasion, you really are a party popper aren't you mate? Anyways, I'm the head PR for Pride's story, aka I'm the one that our little author goes to whenever he needs help and the one that turns his idea into gold! Yup, it's all me baby!

 **Pride: Hey!**

Alright, not all me. About 70-30, my way.

 **Pride: Dante!**

You really need to stop screaming mate, you're going to hurt your throat at this rate. All jokes aside, I'm Pride's beta and friend, and the one that mainly helps him with the story and making sure he doesn't mess up when it comes to continuity of both series. As well as making sure he doesn't write in something ridiculous like Shirou somehow developing a relationship with Momonga and going R-18 on us!

 **Pride: Dude, really?**

Welp, all joking aside, I would like to thank all of you. I myself was a reader who jumped aboard this crazy train, because I had hope. Hope that this would be a great story like none other. Hope that it would brighten the readers day. Hope that, together, we could make something fantastic. And, well... my hope hasn't been unfounded. In the last year, we have produced over 179k words, 3k favorites and 3k follows. I lack the words to express my giddiness and joy at it all, so I'll leave one final message...

 **I GET TO READ THE CHAPTERS FIRST! AHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **[—]**

 **AU Omake: This omake came from not only Pride's idea of having the Elf NPC twins, as Buku and Shirou's kid but also something I remembered. Anyone remember the scene from season 3 of the Overlord Anime? Where Ainz and Aura are riding of her mount and how he embarrassed her? You can easily look it up on Youtube and search: [Overlord III - Ainz makes Aura embarrassed cute moment]. Now, how about we think about this scene in the context of Shirou and Buku being Aura's and Mare's parent as well as the fact old bone daddy "touched" little ole Aura.**

 **Well...**

Within the Great Tomb of Nazarick, a mighty cry could be heard throughout the massive guild base. The voice carrying all the way to the surface and beyond. Dashing through the halls with reckless abandonment and all the grace of a frightened teen was Momonga. The supposed Guild Master and leader of Ainz Ooal Gown himself. At that moment he didn't seem all that mighty or imposing. Especially not when he was screaming his head off.

"AAAHHHHH! I'M SORRY, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" the voice of the terrified lich reverted within the walls as he ran and ran. The destination didn't matter, all that matter was that he was as far away as possible from... **that**!

His none-existent eyes widened as he spied salvation. Without stopping, he opened the door to his personal room within the 9th floor and slammed the door shut. He then used spell after spell to reinforced the door beyond comprehension. After exhausting himself Momonga allowed himself a moment to rest as he stepped back further into his room, away from the door. All was quiet and for a moment Momonga believed everything would be alright.

Fate, however, decided to say 'Fuck that' and gave him the middle finger as a tear in space appeared right in the middle of his room.

The undead necromancer backpedaled as his large frame slammed against the wall. His mouth wide, and his orbs burning as he stared at the tear with undiluted terror. His terror originating from the impossibility that stood before him. In a manner reminiscent of that one movie with the killer tape, the form of one of his dear friends, Bukubukuchagma, made its way through a tear in space. The edges of the anomaly warped and shifted aggressively in what seemed to be an attempt to reverse the grievous wound laid onto the fabric of reality.

It was futile.

With a slimy, pustulous pink tendril she helps the anomaly as her gelatinous body wiggled its way out of the hole and into his room. The embodiment of endless wrath held the instability of the hole in check. With a final heave, she finished dragging herself onto the other side. She landed with a splat and didn't move. A pink puddle staining his room. All was silent as the world itself seemed to hold its breath. Finally, one of them took action.

"Bu-Bukubuku?", a tremor seemed to overtake the words of the nightmarish skeleton as it took in the scene before him. Finally, he snapped out and lunged forward. "BUKUBUKUCHAGAMA!", his voice was reminiscent of a child at the even of Christmas, ready to open their present.

"Momonga..." A terrifying voice called out.

That one word froze the lich in place. A paralyzing terror swept across him and sunk deep into his bones, so deep not even his newfound biology could overcome. He watched as the pool of pink slime congealed and condenses, standing up to form a blob-ish being.

"H-huh...", Momonga voiced his confusion at this odd turn of events. A chill ran down his none existent spine and despite the slime having no face, Momonga could tell she was glaring at him.

Yet, before he could gather his thoughts, he was interrupted by his guildmate. "How...HOW DARE YOU!" her voice boomed impossible with a voice and forced the undead overload into a shaking knee. However, the onslaught was far from finished.

"HOW DARE YOU LAY YOUR HANDS ON MY CUTE AND PRECIOUS AURA! MY SWEET ANGEL IS FAR TO YOUNG TO BE THINKING OF A RELATIONSHIP! HOW DARE YOU MARRED HER IIIIINNNNOOOOOCCCCEEEEENNNNCCCCEEEE!" Bukubukuchagama cried, her voice carrying with it the strength of a thousand [Cry of the Banshee].

"WAIT, WAIT!" Momonga pleaded, throwing his skeletal arms up. "That wasn't me! I've never even touched Aura like that! It was a different me!"

"Well, that Momonga isn't here right now, is he? So you'll have to do!" The voice actress argued back, shutting down him down.

Momonga knew he was doomed. Scurrying back, he could only sit and watch as his doom approaching. Bukubukuchagama launched herself towards the unguarded skeleton, a promise of impending torture marring her features. What followed was a mass of screams and plead for mercy. But, nobody came...

Within the Throne Room, the remaining members of Ainz Ooal Gown remained. The constant plea and terrified scream could be heard even from where they were. Despite their friend being in mortal danger, none showed any signs of moving to go help Momonga.

The cause of this whole ordeal was a small window that popped up in the Throne Room when all the members were present at the time. It was video, no longer a minute long and showed Momonga, or Ainz as he was called, and Aura. The content of which spurred Momonga to flee for his life.

"S-should we...go help Momonga...?" Warrior Takemikazuchi asked uncertainly.

"You want to go get in her way? By all means, go ahead." Amanomahitotsu quipped, his enlarged claw pointing at the opened double doors of the Throne Room.

Normally, Warrior Takemikazuchiwould would be among the first to rush to the aid of any of his friends no matter the situation, but not this time. The samurai heteromorph was reckless but he was far from stupid.

Another impossibly high pitch scream echoed through the walls, followed by the entire room shaking. Everyone felt their ground trembled with the force of an earthquake. The rest of Ainz Ooal Gown looked at one another, still unsure of what to do but at the same time, they did not regret their decision to not intervene.

"My...lords. Shouldn't we stop Lady Bukubukuchagama?" The Guardian Overseer pipped up. Albedo flinched as another one of Momonga's cry ranged out.

"I think...we should allow them to sort their troubles out by themselves Albedo. We would only be interfering with their... issues..." Tabula tentatively explained.

"B-but what if Lady Bukubukuchagama were to accidentally kill my love—I mean Lord Momonga." Albedo deposited.

"Relax Albedo. Buku wouldn't do something like tha—" Yamiako words were swiftly cut off by what came next.

"OH SWEET MERCIFUL GOD, SHE'S KILLING ME! WHY WON'T SOMEONE HELP ME?!" Momonga's death scream was heard by all.

An awkward silence filled the Throne Room as everyone just looked at Yamaiko, who silently backtracked. Albedo clasped her hands together like she was praying, her body shaking and quivering and she looked to be on the verge of tears. The Pleiades along with Sebas whom were also in the Throne Room was equally as concerned as the Guardian Overseer. Even the stoic Sebas and the emotionless Shizu Delta had visibly concern looks as they waited. However, none of them dared to move lest commanded by the Supreme Beings themselves.

"I hope you'll forgive me Momonga." Peroroncino clapped his hands together and offered a silent prayer for his friend. For that was all he could do. "There's no way I can go up against sis AND Shirou-sempai."

Indeed, for in the very beginning, Momonga was running away from Shirou. It seemed that the protective and parental instincts within Shirou and Bukubukuchagama were ignited due to the video they saw. And now, they were out for blood.

Next to Peroroncino was a window that displayed a live feed. There, it tracked Shirou as he calmly and methodically walked down the hall. His destination, Momonga's room. His face was set in a dark look as he treks down the hallway very reminiscent of a certain Terminator with only one goal in mind. Shirou carried what could only be described as a shotgun...made out of swords.

Which was being watched by Ulbert and Touch Me.

"Hell hath no fury compared to a woman's anger." The archdemon commented, another round of Momonga's scream to fill the air. A part of him pitied his friend and his particular situation. Another part of him couldn't but help but giggle at the situation of it all. The last part of him couldn't help but admire just how powerful and resilient Momonga's lung for considering the fact that he was screaming nonstop for five minutes.

"And Heaven holds no mercy to a father's wrath." Touch Me added, as he spied Shirou standing right outside the door, patiently waiting for Bukubukuchagama to be done so that it would be his time. All the while he cocks shotgun in SWORDS. As a father himself, the World Champion understood Shirou and Bukubukuchagama's motives. Were anyone, even his friend was to try the same thing on his own daughter then they too would be a world of pain.

It would take another hour before the screaming and shakes finally died down. When the other Guardians, and NPCs inquired on what exactly happened that day; all the answers they received were the same. Nothing, nothing happened at all...

 **[FIN]**


	11. Chapter 7 Apology, Update, and Future

**Chapter 7 Apology, Update, and Future**

 **Hello, this 7th Pride.**

 **Before I get started for I know that anyone that might be concerned about the future of the fic, no I'm not suddenly not suddenly pulling this story or putting it on indefinite hiatus or anything of the sort. I'm merely writing this update piece in response to the rather abysmal launch of chapter 7 as well as addressing my many readers that have stuck with me. I felt that everyone is entitled to an explanation on this matter as they deserved one.**

 **I'll be listing all my thoughts, concerns, ideas, and explanation for not only the chapter, but what went on and what was intended to be read. If possible, please read until the end to in order to understand the situation and what is going to happen next.**

* * *

Originally, I had plans to respond to each important reviews that were left on the chapter, and then post this update to take down chapter 7, however as I was writing and writing, it would take far too long to properly respond to everyone. Plus, with broken system where any replies to reviews or PMs does not give a email notification, thus no alert to let anyone know I actually responded back. Hence why I decided to write this up to addressed everyone at once, especially those that have private message disabled, which means I'm unable to respond to their reviews as well, and any guests as I cannot reply or get in touch with them. I've already started responding back to a few of the reviewers and those sent a private message my way, so some of the things that I will say here will be identical to what I already wrote, if a little bit more elaborated on.

With that out of the way, I would like to say just one thing first. **I am sorry. **

While there are those enjoyed the chapter for what it was, which was an honest surprise, I would wager that a majority of the reader base and reviewers were in one form or fashion left extremely unsatisfied, confused at the choices made in the chapter, and perhaps even angered for the portrayal of the characters and events - namely the characterization of Shirou and his regression as well as certain decisions made. All of which are very valid criticism of the chapter and one I agree with the majority on.

With that stated, that begs the question. How the heck did a chapter like this somehow get past the beta reading and was deemed acceptable to be uploaded?

To those that are willingly to hear myself out, then I will explain what happened behind the scenes point during these long months that lead up to the chapter. From there, you may all of make of this however you please.

 **I would also like to preface this by saying that I am in no way shape or form explicitly blaming I4MD347H for the happenings of the chapter. I too am at fault, if not more so then him. I would simply like to explain what transpired that lead up to this chapter.**

With that said, allow me to begin. The last full upload on the story was that the third Daily Lives of Ainz Ooal Gown which was uploaded in November 14th, 2019. Nearly six months ago. In the early months after the upload of the chapter that I fell into a slump that hit me rather hard. I wanted to continue writing, but do some personal issues, as well as Dante, my friend and main beta being unavailable I reached out to I4MD347H one day during this time period when I wasn't uploading anything for months. It was his suggestion to try and co-write a chapter, which I never done before so I agreed if only to try it.

While we were in talk, it became apparent that he was a firm supporter on Overlord, caring greatly for how the source material and ideas in it was to be treated while I was in the Fate camp. We talked and argued a bit, here and there as like with every kind of discussion. We decided to try it out and write, hoping to get myself out of the slump and the motivation needed to start back up. We chatted some more, and got to know each other a bit more. It was during this however, around 1/2 of the chapter was written that I started to get a sense of where it was going. He was quite vocal on the Overlord aspects of the story, namely how I was buffing up Shirou and the Fate element to ridiculous degrees apparently. Of which I can see and agree on some level.

He was advocating for showing more of the Overlord side of the story, world building elements, exploration of some characters and ideas he had, and showing where Shirou should "reasonably" be in terms of strength and skill in YGGDRASIL. Such as Players that could contend with Shirou and those that could outright kill/beat him. Points that I could understand and see, but debated on regarding how he wished for it. He wanted to show the true strength of the Players within Overlord's YGGDRASIL - such as the creation of his OC - Djall, along with the trio: Moonacy, Beanstalker, and Fifth Horseman.

Much of the chapter followed his general ideas and outline, especially some specific choices made to the chapter. Deep down, I didn't enjoy the chapter at all. One of which was basically nerfing Shirou, and making him a bit ignorant regarding YGGDRASIL combat. Despite the fact that he shouldn't be after all these years, as well as having his guild mates fill in his knowledge on PvP. Bits and pieces here and there I enjoyed working on together with, but for the most part I was in quiet discontent with what happened and how the fights between Shirou and the Players were handled.

As pointed out by some of the reviewers and PMs, this chapter feels weird and different. As if someone else had written the chapter, and for the most part that is true. When we were co-writing it, it didn't feel like I was writing it my way or in my style.

 **Now, that begs the biggest question: why did I not simply why didn't speak up more on this or try and make my case better or argue more to write it how I envisioned it? Instead of just keeping quiet and going along with the chapter?**

I suppose the answer to that would be my insecurity and near crippling self-doubt. I know it sounds contrive but I've always held the opinions of others above my own. Even if it doesn't always show. When I was stuck in the slump nearly the end of last year, I had decided to reach out to I4MD347H for help, and he offered his help. I was grateful as at the time, the slump was getting to me a bit and the friend and beta I always talked to was unavailable due to some personal issues. We went back and forth, and despite working on it, it never lasted.

I would appear on and off again, going silence for months from the story. It got really bad around the time of December to February of this year. I was still in that slump at the time, itself hitting me rather hard and sporadically at times, combined with my personal life issues as well. Which heavily affected my thinking. As I said in the chapter, I once thought about deleting the story around the time of February to March.

Eventually I was able to get myself straightened out, or at least the best I could and revisited the chapter to try and finish it. My thoughts on it remaining quietly the same. I felt that if I were to suddenly scrap it all that it might offend him and earn his scorn. Especially since he took the time and energy to help me. Due to my low-self esteem at times, I felt 'almost' indebted to try and make it work. Despite my clear thoughts on the matter.

You may think this is ridiculous or a bit pathetic on my part, and I would not exactly blame you.

Was that the right thing to do? Most likely not, and I'm to blame for that. Still, I decided to keep quiet on the matter and meek out the chapter. Going along with my inputs here and there for the chapter. I was a coward, simply going along because I didn't wish to make him angry as well as my personal feeling on the chapter becoming almost lackadaisical.

I held a small hope that it might still be an enjoyable read but that was rather naive of me, and as shown by the reviews I should have known better.

I don't blame him for what's he done and written as he's shown to have a love and care for the Overlord franchise, which has helped me to be informed on some things. But I should have recognized from the start where our interests lie in regards to writing this story.

 **Again, I am not saying this as an attempt to throw** **I4MD347H under the bus or trying to shift the blame. The fault of this chapter lies solely on myself, as had I been a bit more assertive and firm in my true thoughts and writing the chapter I had wished. This chapter maybe could have not been what it is. However, one thing that I am solely to be blamed on is** **regarding the choice characterization of Shirou.**

Namely the butchering of characterization for Shirou in this chapter out of nowhere. As many have pointed, Shirou's character here is practically the antithesis of how I've been building him up to be since the beginning. In the case since it was so poorly done and written, especially I was trying to shoehorn it into the entire itself. A point that I4MD347H has made time and again.

As stated in the Author's Note, the original chapter was meant to be one complete chapter, with the set-up (Shirou's strange behavior appearing) and the pay-off which would give an explanation on the choice made, and the hows and whys of it all. Due to the decision to split it up, chapter 7 was relegated to being the set-up chapter, showing Shirou acting far out of character and the mystery - of course, I see and completely understand where many are calling his actions, thinking, and general behaviors to be OOC and a huge regression. Having him basically becoming angsty with little no reasoning or set up as to why. The second chapter following it up would have go in depth and try and resolve the points made in chapter 7. Using the the time skips from chapter 6 to the Daily Lives Interlude and to chapter 7 was to try and set up this idea and show the passage of time.

Naturally, I failed rather miserably when trying to implement this idea and outline for the story.

I knew from the beginning that the introduction of the idea would catch a lot of readers off-guard and many would be reasonably upset since I've built this Shirou up this far, showing his bonds and everything only to sudden throw this out. I would imagined a lot of frustration comes from chapter 7 being only the set-up and that the chapter itself was lacking and polarizing, with no follow up in order to make the points interesting.

 **Note: This is a bit of spoiler territory for this was the idea and outline for what I wanted to write and explore in the chapters.**

 **[The idea and outline I have is basically Shirou, relapsing almost. Not full on, but rather falling back onto old habits. The reason for this is his 'seemingly' growing obsession with gaining the Class Card. Relapsing back to his loner magus day, where he had barely anyone to rely on. He's someone that encountered hardships at every turn, and at the end of it all. He was left alone, everyone he knew practically gone. Him being transferred to YGGDRASIL, kept his mind of it, along with joining and playing with Ainz Ooal Gown. They kept him 'distracted' so to say. However, it's not enough.**

 **He is a man who has seen so much, too much in fact, that all the little problems that they have and he helps with are reminders of how simple life can be. In other words, he is a veteran who has dealt with life and is used to immense struggle if he wants victory. When he came into this world, he has none of that. No real challenge against the simplistic combat abilities of the other players and no real turmoil with the relatively minor emotional hang ups of his friends. It has been one easy victory after another. His time with Ainz Ooal Gown has been fun, but they are temporary.**

 **So, when confronted with a real labor, the idea of the Servant bosses and the Class Cards being in YGGDRASIL for some unknown reason, and what they represent, decades of misery, and the repressed emotions - he was swept up. Swept up in the tidal wave of repressed negativity that he had long since grown numb to, now demanding his attention as a stark presence against his new happiness. There is a saying, "Give to one who has plenty, and he will hardly notice. Take from one who has none, and he will hardly struggle. However, threaten one who has recovered, and he will tear your world asunder." When you know what it feels like to lose, and you discover what winning is, you will hold on to it, even if it kills you.**

 **Shirou is currently consumed by the ghost of his pasts, the Class Cards, and all the memories that come with them. Shirou began his crusade in an attempt to track down the last traces of his past so he may live in his new happiness, but he lost his way. In the beginning he was after them because he knew what they were and wanted to know why they were in YGGDRASIL. For what purpose were they in here.** **Along the way, his goal and purpose grew muddied, and he succumbed to instincts. Instincts that told him he needed to collect those cards? Why? He doesn't truly know, but only the fact that he needs to.**

 **The idea is that Shirou is relapsing into someone who's has been chasing ghosts from his past for a while now, immersing himself further and further into the days before he had friends, when he was miserable. All that has taken a toll on his psyche, he is no longer EMIYA, the friend everyone in Ainz Ooal Gown looks up to, but Emiya Shirou, the fuck up of a magus, human, and emotional partner who pushed all away for nothing in return. All this time, up to the reveal of the class cards and the subsequent obsession, he has a coping mechanism in the guild.]**

 **As for how and while Ainz Ooal Gown could have let this happen to him? Well, that's to play in with the time skip and passage of time between the chapters. In the 3 years from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7, Shirou slowly starts to go back into his old habits. Very slow at first, only to be taken to the extreme in chapter 7, after about 3 years. In the beginning those of Ainz Ooal Gown would make notice of this and comment, but ultimately do nothing about it as it wasn't out of the ordinary. Add in the fact that each member has their own personal life and such, thus they aren't always online to be there to see Shirou always while is always online. Thus, they don't always see him to take notice of the change, that and as time progressed he's out for far longer. That, and they are respectful of Shirou's wishes and so if he says he's alright or don't need help they would try and respect him. They won't try to pry into his life. As time continue on and they start to really take notice, it would be a bit too late. Shirou getting into the mentality while they tried talking more about it with him, but he slowly isolate himself.**

 **Going out on longer missions, ignoring and not answering [Messages].** **They had remained passive, unsure and afraid to say anything against him. Some of their thoughts and beliefs that Shirou knows what he's doing and that it's ok. They have faith in him. Their unintentional negligence allowed Shirou to sink further away from them. They are just normal, everyday people thus in the beginning and later on they don't exactly see anything wrong with it, thinking its just Shirou being after the World Class item, just like any other Player. They don't recognize that something is seriously wrong until it's too late.**

 **Leading up to where Shirou's character is so sullen and reclusive almost due to relapsing, and why he's basically ignoring Ainz Ooal Gown at the beginning of Chapter 7.** **The drive to find the Servant bosses having consumed him, making him believe and rationalized that he needed to be the one to do it. For he is the only one to do it, and that his problems are not their concerns. Chapter 7 would leave the question and mystery while Chapter 8 would follow it up, explaining how Shirou is like how, how it came to pass, the reasoning and why, and finally resolving it. Namely Ainz Ooal Gown being the one to do so at the end.**

 **Shirou has lived an extremely extraordinary life, while his friends are all regular people.** **They couldn't truly fathom what exactly he's seen, done, and been through. His mentality is, it's his problem and no one elses. They wouldn't understand. Kind of like saying he's cleaning up his own mess.** **Driving them away without truly meaning too. As stated, falling back into old habits and keeping to himself without bothering Ainz Ooal Gown as in the past, he usually dealt with issues and problem alone without help most of the time. All under a misguided belief.**

 **The general theme and outline for this plot point and arc was to show Shirou relapsing into who he was, the loner of a man, and this time having Ainz Ooal Gown be the one to knock some sense into him. Before, he would have the likes of Rin or someone else keep him grounded and knock some sense into him. But now, he doesn't really have anyone there that truly gets him, that understand him. Thus, chapter 8 would follow up with Ainz Ooal Gown finally acknowledging what they've done wrong and that his attitude has severely changed and that it was time to take action, rather than sit on the sideline and take Shirou's words that he's "ok" on his own or such. Just like all those time in the past where Shirou reached out to his guild mates and friends and helped them, having profound effects on the members. This time it would be their turn to reach out to him and pull him back.**

 **That was the plan for what was to transpire and leading into one of the most anticipated bits following forward. Of course writing and planning and idea is always a 100x easier than actually implementing correctly and in a satisfying way that doesn't break the flow of the story that's always been firmly established. Which I failed, thus leaving Shirou to be like how he is in the chapter.**

* * *

 **But yes, that is that. In the end, I, and I alone hold all accountability as I made the conscious choice to upload the chapter despite all that was going on. If I had been more diligent and truthful in what I wish, the chapter wouldn't have been as polarizing as it was. Now that, that has been stated. The biggest question now is: What am I going to do?**

 **First and foremost, I'll be taking down chapter 7 and doing a complete and total rewrite and overhaul of it. I'm not satisfied, Dante, my friend and beta isn't satisfied, and a majority of the readers aren't satisfied.** **The idea and theme for what I have planned that I presented just before, that may or may not change or alter depending on how it goes in the new rewrite and planning. I will have to wait and see.**

 **Also, I have been in touched with** **I4MD347H and chatted with him. Thankfully he was understanding, and thus I'll be moving forward with the re-write, however it will be primarily be myself instead of the co-writer process we tried last time. I'll still be reaching out to him on anything Overlord that I might have questions or concerns on. Again, please do not think ill-will of him or harass him.**

 **Also, no doubt there will be those that believe I'm trying to backpedal on the chapter, and do some damage control. As stated, I'm largely unsatisfied with how the chapter turn out and simply ignoring all the valid criticism and simply continuing on would do no good, and would be an insult for not only the story being written, but also all the readers that have stuck with my story and have invested their time into this. I wish to write a chapter that I and many of you can read and enjoy that builds upon what has already been laid out.**

 **With that said, I would like to take a moment to allow for my friend and long time beta of the story: Dante Evans to express some words as he too has his own thoughts on the matter.**

* * *

 **Dante Evans:**

Hello to all of you denizens of Fanfiction, my name is Dante Evans. I'm the editor for 7th Pride, but above that, I'm his friend. And I feel like I've failed at both. I'm writing this in an attempt to correct at least some of my infractions.

Quarantine has had widespread effects on most anyone. Some might be minor, while others are far larger. I won't bore anyone with the details, but it's safe to say that when 7th Pride contacted me to help him edit, I wasn't in the right headspace.

I'm many things: a beta reader for this passion project, a friend to its amazing author, and at the end of the day, human. A human prone to mistakes. A human who failed to stop his friend from publishing a chapter that would not be received well. However, this is no excuse for my failures, so I won't ask for forgiveness. Instead, I ask for you to direct any misgivings you might still have towards me, rather than 7th Pride.

He says it's not my fault, yet I feel guilty. He shouldn't be the one to burden the responsibility of what was published, at least not alone. So, I ask for you to scorn me. Hate me. Insult me. Ridicule me. I'll accept any punishment, as long as you allow yourself to be open to 7th Pride's attempts to fix a wrong and my own contributions to his effort. Don't give up on his story, cause we both aren't giving up either.

From our failures, we learn. We grow. We prosper. So, stick around to watch us fail to reach the stars, and instead reach the sky. And even then, that is just another step in the ladder, bringing us one step closer to writing what I hope is the best Fate/ Stay Night and Overlord crossover. So, I ask of you, will you stick around to see us through all the future's ups and downs? If so, then hold your breath (or don't, depending on your lung capacity) as I, Dante Evans, work alongside my friend, 7th Pride, to write his magnum opus!

Thank you for listening to my rant and I hope to see you wonderful people again, next time we update!

* * *

 **With all of that said and done, I would like to thank you for taking the time to at the very least look at what I had to say. Please know that this is most of my thoughts condensed down, so if there are a few things that are confusing or needs more information and elaboration, then please send me a PM and I will answer as soon as I can. If you have any more grievences, please direct them towards me and not Dante or** **I4MD347H.** **Other than that, if you have comments, concerns, or things you would like to say - please do write a PM. That way I can respond back to it.**

 **As with this chapter, the amount of reviews for is nearly at 190 reviews, and does not allow individuals to be put multiple reviews on the same chapter if they have already left one. That way I can hopefully answer any questions in an orderly concern. And to those with guest reviews, know that I'll most likely see them but will be unable to properly reply to them.**

 **I hope that I can somehow keep your interest in what's to come, if and when I finally get the story straightened out. I cannot fully say when it might be done as with what's going on. Anything sporadic and crazy can happen. All I can promise is that I will work on it to the best of my ability. To try and regain the trust you've all placed in the story.**

 **I hope to see you all in the next chapter to come.**

 **Thank you and Regards,**

 **7th Pride.**


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